Immunizations & Medical Services

CERTIFICATE OF IMMUNIZATION (Form 3231)

No child may attend a public school without a Certificate of Immunization (form 3231) provided by the Georgia Department of Human Resources, the Bulloch County Health Department, or a licensed physician. Please direct questions to the school district’s lead nurse at 912-212-8599 or the nurse at your child’s school.

1. Exemptions - Georgia law allows for two types of exemption from this code:  Medical and religious.  
   1. Medical Exemptions - School administrators or the school system superintendent may grant a 30-calendar-day waiver of the immunization certificate for medical exemptions if documentation is provided by a physician or a health department that the immunizations are in process. 
      1. If the child withdraws from school and later re-enrolls, the parent/guardian will not be granted another 30-day waiver. 
      2. A certificate for a child who is in the process of receiving all required vaccines must have a date of expiration that relates to the date the next required immunizations are due or the date on which a medical exemption must be reviewed.  A new certificate must then be obtained and submitted to the school or facility within 30 days after expiration date. Children whose parents fail to renew said certificates within the time allotted shall not be permitted to continue in attendance.
      3. A medical exemption must be recorded on the Certificate of Immunization (form 3231) by the licensed physician. This exemption requires an annual recertification by the physician.
      4. Requirements for the Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella vaccines may be waived with serologic proof of immunity. Requirements for varicella vaccine may be waived also with history of medical diagnosis of disease or parent or guardian description of disease that has been interpreted as valid by the certifying authority.
      5. School administrators or the superintendent may grant the maximum of a 90-calendar-day waiver with the documentation provided by a physician or health department:
         1. Certificate of Immunization Form must specify that an immunization sequence has been started and that this immunization time schedule can be completed within the 90-day waiver period;
         2. Must  provide confirmation during the waiver period from the health department or physician that immunizations are being received as scheduled; and
         3.  Student under waiver is a transfer student who has moved to Georgia from another state or a student who is entering Kindergarten or first grade from out of state. The waiver may not be extended beyond 90-calendar days. Upon expiration of the 90-day waiver, the child shall not be permitted to attend school unless the child submits a valid certificate of immunization.
   2. Religious Exemptions - A 30-day calendar waiver may also be granted to allow a parent or guardian to obtain a written, notarized affidavit of religious exemption to certify that the immunization requirement conflicts with religious beliefs.  This documentation is only required one time. 
2. Epidemics - Immunization may be required by the school system should a disease be in an epidemic stage in a school or school system. During an epidemic or a threatened epidemic of any disease preventable by an immunization required by the Georgia Department of Human Resources, children who have not been immunized may be excluded from the school until (1) they are immunized against the disease unless they present valid evidence of prior disease, or (2) the epidemic or threat no longer constitutes a significant health danger.
3. Out-of-State Students – Out-of-state students must meet all requirements for Georgia immunization and the documentation must be provided on the Georgia Certificate of Immunization Form as provided by Rule 290-5-4-.04, or a Certificate of Immunization indicating medical exemption as provided by Rule 290-5-4.05. Code Section Code 20-2-771 and Chapter 290-5-4 (Rules of DHR and PH).
4. Required Grade-Level Immunizations
   1. Rising Sixth-Grade Students - For entrance into grade six in Georgia schools, a child must have a total of two measles containing vaccines administered on or after the child’s first birthday and at least thirty days apart. A child must also have two doses of Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine on or after the first birthday or two doses, administered a minimum of 28 days apart,  if the first dose was given at age 13 years or older.
   2. Rising Eleventh-Grade Students – Effective July 1, 2020, children 16-years-of-age and older who are entering the 11th grade, including new entrants, must have received one booster dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4), unless their initial dose was administered on or after their 16th birthday. 

Procedures for School Nurses

Bulloch County Schools provides a team of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, who serve across each of our schools. These are trained medical professionals who serve the health needs of our students and employees, and they help ensure we maintain safe, healthy learning environments. Our nurses will contact parents and send a child home if the child has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher with symptoms of coughing, sore throat, and malaise. If a student is sent home from school with a fever, he or she should not return to school until 24 hours after fever is gone without the use of any fever-reducing medication.

Hospital Homebound Services

Hospital Homebound Services are provided for students who meet the eligibility requirements as outlined in Bulloch County Schools’ procedures.  Students with a medical issue who are anticipated to be absent 10 consecutive days in elementary, middle, or high school or five consecutive days in a high school with block scheduling may be eligible for Hospital Homebound Services.  It is the goal of the Hospital Homebound staff to work closely with the family, the physician and the student’s assigned school in order to facilitate a smooth, successful transition for the student upon returning to the regular school program.

Request Hospital Homebound Services

You may use this Hospital Homebound Services Referral Form, or you may contact your school nurse .  The form must be completed by an attending physician, signed by the parent or guardian and an administrator of the school where the child attends and then turned in to the Special Education Department via the school nurse or Hospital Homebound coordinator.  For questions, contact the district's executive director of Special Education at 912.212.8580.