Florida Meningitis Vaccine Requirements and Exemptions

Florida’s meningitis vaccine requirements center on one shot: the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY), which every student must have before entering seventh grade in a Florida public or private school. College students who will live in on-campus housing face a separate requirement to document vaccination against meningococcal meningitis or sign a waiver. Medical and religious exemptions are available for both.

The Seventh-Grade MenACWY Requirement

Florida Statute 1003.22 requires students to be immunized against the communicable diseases specified by the Department of Health.¹ The specific schedule lives in Florida Administrative Code Rule 64D-3.046 and the Immunization Guidelines for Florida Schools (DH Form 150-615), which name MenACWY as a seventh-grade entry requirement.²

Without proof of this vaccination or a valid exemption, a school must refuse admittance or temporarily exclude the student. The statute uses “shall,” so schools have no discretion to let a non-compliant student stay in class.³

The Age-16 Booster

The CDC recommends a MenACWY booster at age 16 because protection from the first dose fades. If the first dose was given between ages 13 and 15, the booster should follow between 16 and 18. A student who received the first dose at 16 or later does not need a separate booster.⁴ This booster is a federal recommendation, not a Florida school-entry mandate, but it covers the years when meningococcal risk is highest.

Accepted Proof of Vaccination

Every K-12 student in Florida must have a certification of immunization on file before being admitted. That certification can be either Form DH 680, the Florida Certification of Immunization completed by a licensed healthcare provider, or an electronic record in Florida SHOTS, the state’s immunization registry.¹⁵ Either form is legally sufficient. If your child’s provider has entered the vaccine into Florida SHOTS, the school can verify it directly without a paper copy.

Medical and Religious Exemptions

Florida recognizes two categories of exemptions from school immunization requirements.

Medical Exemption

A Florida-licensed physician can issue a temporary or permanent medical exemption. A temporary exemption applies when a student is still in the process of completing a vaccine series; it is documented on Form DH 680 and carries an expiration date by which the remaining doses must be done. A permanent exemption requires the physician to certify in writing, on a DOH-approved form, that the vaccine is medically contraindicated.⁶¹

Religious Exemption

A parent who objects to immunization on religious grounds can request Form DH 681, the Religious Exemption from Immunization, from a county health department. Parents generally need to appear in person with the child’s birth certificate and a valid ID. The completed form must be presented to the school before the child enters, attends, or transfers.⁶⁷ The statute sets no expiration for a religious exemption.

Note the limit on both exemptions during an outbreak, covered below.

Temporary Admission Without Complete Records

Not every student arrives with a finished immunization file. Florida’s administrative code allows a school official to grant up to 30 days of temporary admission for certain students while they obtain records or complete missing doses:²

Children experiencing homelessness as defined under Florida law.
Students transferring from another school whose records have not yet arrived.
Students entering a juvenile justice education program.
Children of military families covered by the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.

Federal law gives homeless students additional protection. Under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, schools must immediately enroll a child experiencing homelessness even without immunization records and then help the family obtain them.⁸

What Happens During a Disease Outbreak

If meningitis or another required-immunization disease appears in a Florida school, the county health department director or the State Health Officer can declare a communicable disease emergency. Once declared, the school must identify every student who is not fully immunized against that disease and share those records with the county health department. Students who lack immunization against the disease causing the emergency are temporarily excluded until the health department clears their return.³ This applies to students with religious or medical exemptions as well. A valid exemption keeps a child in school day-to-day, but it does not keep them in school during an active outbreak of the disease the exemption covers.

College and University Students

Florida’s meningitis rules continue after high school. Under Florida Statute 1006.69, every postsecondary institution must give each admitted student (or a minor student’s parent) detailed information about the risks of meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B and about the availability and effectiveness of vaccines.⁹

Students who will live in on-campus housing must document vaccination against both meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B. A student 18 or older, or a parent for a minor, may decline by signing a waiver for each vaccine, confirming they received and reviewed the information. The college is not required to provide or pay for the vaccines.⁹ Students who will commute or live off-campus do not have a vaccination requirement, only the information requirement.

Paying for the Vaccine

Cost should not be the obstacle. Most private health insurance plans are required under the Affordable Care Act to cover ACIP-recommended vaccines, including MenACWY, with no copay, coinsurance, or deductible when administered by an in-network provider.¹⁰

For families without adequate coverage, the federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) program provides recommended vaccines at no cost to children 18 and under who are Medicaid-enrolled, uninsured, underinsured, or American Indian or Alaska Native. Underinsured children can receive VFC vaccines at federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics.¹¹ Your local county health department can administer childhood immunizations and connect you to VFC if you qualify.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 1003.22 – School-Entry Health Examinations; Immunization Against Communicable Diseases; Exemptions; Duties of Department of Health
2
Cornell Law Institute. Florida Admin Code Ann R 64D-3.046 – Immunization Requirements
3
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 1003.22 – School-Entry Health Examinations; Immunization Against Communicable Diseases; Exemptions; Duties of Department of Health
4
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meningococcal Vaccine Recommendations
5
Florida SHOTS. Creating A DH Form 680
6
Florida Department of Health. Immunization Exemptions
7
Florida Department of Health in Lee County. Child Immunizations
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11432 – Grants for State and Local Activities for the Education of Homeless Children and Youths
9
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 1006.69 – Vaccination Against Meningococcal Meningitis and Hepatitis B
10
HealthCare.gov. Preventive Health Services
11
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccines for Children Program – Information for Parents