Vaccine Exemptions for Daycare

According to current Kansas law (K.S.A. 65-508), children in daycare facilities, daycare programs, and preschools not operated by a school are required to be immunized according to the Secretary of Health & Environment's recommendations unless either:

1. The parent obtains certification from a licensed physician stating that the child's life or health would be endangered by immunization due to that child's physical condition, or

2. The parent or guardian submits a signed document stating that immunization violates the parent or guardian’s sincerely held religious beliefs.

If your child attends a daycare or preschool program that is operated by a school, exemptions fall under a separate statute, K.S.A. 72-6262. Follow the exemption guidelines for schools found here.

You can download these documents to use as a guide for obtaining an exemption for your child attending a daycare or preschool program that is not operated by a school:

Daycare Medical Exemption:

This document must be signed by a medical doctor (MD) or osteopathic doctor (DO). Download here.

Daycare Religious Exemption:

We recommend using the exact wording from this document. The statute does not require any information beyond a simple statement, nor does it require a signature from a religious leader. Moreover, there is no explicit provision in the statute for school authorities to challenge the validity of the statement, so elaboration on one’s religious views is unnecessary. In this situation, silence is golden. This exemption form is for a child attending a daycare program or preschool facility that is not operated by a school. Download here.

In addition to an exemption, consider using this template to write your own letter opposing childhood vaccination to your child’s preschool. Note that there is some grey area within some Kansas statutes that might allow for vaccination of your child without your express consent, so make sure this letter is on file everywhere your child attends without your supervision.