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Get Kids Vaccinated or ElseGet Kids Vaccinated or Else, Parents ToldMaryland School System Threatens Legal ActionBy Nelson HernandezWashington Post Staff WriterWednesday, November 14, 2007; B01Copyright © 2009 Education Development Center, Inc. Exploring Bioethics.Permission granted for classroom use.The parents of more than 2,300 Maryland studentswho failed to get needed vaccinations could face finesof $50 a day and up to 10 days in jail if their childrendo not meet the state’s immunization requirements,county officials said yesterday.The threat of legal action is a last resort aftermonths in which a Maryland school system hasstruggled to get its 131,000 students immunized forchicken pox and hepatitis B, as mandated by the state.More than 2,300 students have not been immunizedand have been barred from attending schools, almosttwo months after a Sept. 20 deadline for meeting therequirement. “We can do this the easy way or the hardway, but it’s got to get done,” State’s Attorney Glenn F.Ivey (D) said at a news conference. “I’m willing to moveforward with legal action.”School officials have made calls, sent letters andconducted home visits to make arrangements for freeappointments for the needed shots. But often thestudents’ addresses and phone numbers have beenoutdated, making contacting them difficult. Other studentshave received the vaccines but failed to get thenecessary booster shots.The school system turned to the justice system asa final option and received the backing of Circuit JudgeWilliam D. Missouri, the county’s administrative judge,and Circuit Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr., who handlesjuvenile matters.“This is an educational crisis,” said R. Owen JohnsonJr., chairman of the school board. “This is a publichealth and a children’s rights issue.”Nichols and Ivey sent another round of letters tothe families still out of compliance. Nichols’s letter orderedthe parents to show up at Prince George’s CircuitCourt for a court hearing and a free vaccine; Ivey’s letterwarned that “unexcused absences by your child maysubject you to a criminal charge.” They expect almost1,700 children to show up Saturday with their parentsfor the first in a series of Circuit Court hearings on thematter. School officials said the parents would receivea verbal reprimand from the judge and be ordered tohave their children immunized in the courthouse. Thestudents would then be allowed to return to school.Parents who do not appear could face fines of $50for each day they fail to get their children immunizedafter being charged. They also could serve up to 10 daysin jail. Ivey said he hoped charging parents would notbe necessary.“The goal is to get kids in school, not to put parentsin jail,” Ivey said.Missouri said he looked forward to talking to theparents who had not gotten their children immunized,to understand why. “I’d like to know exactly what thereasons are because the reasons may be able to be addressedwithout ratcheting it up to this point,” he said.Schools officials said they were sorry the crisis hadgone this far, but that it needed to be solved immediately.“This has really, really been a difficult time for us,”said Betty Despenza-Green, the school system’s chiefof student services. “It hurts us when any child is outof school because he needs to be immunized, and so wefelt we needed to be creative. We need those studentsimmunized. We need them in schools.”Source: From The Washington Post, November 14, 2007© 2007 The Washington Post. All rights reserved. Used bypermission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the UnitedStates. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmissionof the Material without express written permission isprohibited. www.washingtonpost.comMaster 2.1