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Unvaccinated students may not move to next grade if proper documentation not completed

If a child has missed getting vaccinated and needs to wait for the documentation, they may come close to not moving on to the next grade.

TYLER, Texas — As students settle in their classrooms for the new school year, it is imperative parents make sure their children are up to date on their immunizations.

The Texas Department of State Health requires all students to be immunized unless they receive a special exemption. If this is not done, students will not be allowed to attend school.

Dr. Monique Mills, a Pediatrician with UT Health North Tyler Clinic, says getting the vaccinations keeps children healthy through their childhood. 

"I recommend to all my families that they follow the CDC immunization schedule starting at birth, keeping kids on track with the schedule vaccinating on time," Mills said. 

If a child does not get the vaccines recommended by the state, parents need to get a conscientious exemption or a medical exemption. 

"A conscientious exemption covers a lot of different things, but it's a parent that chooses not to vaccinate their child," Rachel Barber, the Director of Health Services for Tyler ISD, said. 

The conscientious exemption can take four to six weeks to get in the mail unless a parents picks it up in Austin. 

"A medical exemption are for those students that have possibly an immunity problem, or an allergy to one of the specific vaccinations and a doctor has to write a note to the school stating they can't get that vaccination," Barber said. 

Students need to attend a certain number of days to move onto the next grade. For Tyler ISD,  it's 90% of the school. 

If a child has missed getting vaccinated and needs to wait for the documentation, they may come close to not moving on to the next grade.

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