A man speaks with colleagues during a school board meeting.
Wichita Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld discusses preparations for the coming school year with the Board of Education on Monday. Credit: (Marcus Clem/The Beacon)

Kansas requires students to be vaccinated against certain diseases before attending any public or private school. Parents can request exemptions to these vaccine requirements for documented medical conditions or religious objections. 

Caregivers will need to provide proof that students have all required vaccines before starting school.

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State law requires school districts to help spread the word about vaccine requirements. The district must send information to all parents or likely parents by May 15.

Steps for parents

Check the vaccine records

  • If you don’t have a copy, call the doctor’s office for your child. 
  • Once you have the records, make sure your kid has all the required shots, so they can go to school.

Schedule any missing shots

  • If they are missing one or two vaccinations, set up an appointment to get them.
  • Insurance usually covers the cost of vaccinations.
  • If you don’t have insurance, check with your county health department for low-cost options. Sedgwick County provides all mandatory shots cost-free to underinsured and Medicaid families. 

Turn in proof to the school

  • Once you have everything you need, send that proof to your child’s school.

Vaccine requirements

Students entering pre-K

  • All of the vaccinations for kindergarteners
  • Haemophilus influenzae type B
  • Pneumococcal conjugate 

Kids entering kindergarten

  • Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (5 doses)
  • Polio (4 doses)
  • Hepatitis A (2 doses)
  • Hepatitis B (3 doses)
  • Chicken pox (2 doses)
  • Measles, mumps and rubella (2 doses)

For those heading into seventh grade

  • All of the vaccinations for kindergarteners
  • Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis booster
  • Meningitis first dose

Students entering eleventh grade

  • All of the vaccinations for seventh graders
  • Meningitis booster

Exemptions

Parents should talk with a doctor if they have concerns about the health effects of vaccines. These shots have been given for decades with very few complications.

If a parent needs a medical exemption to the vaccine requirements, a doctor must sign a written statement each year saying a given vaccine would seriously endanger a child’s health.

Parents will need to check with their school about how to claim a religious exemption. In many districts, parents must write and sign a statement that vaccines violate their religious beliefs. 

In Wichita, the school board may ask for relevant clergy to affirm the shots violate religious teachings.

MARCUS CLEM is the former education reporter at The Beacon in Wichita. He is a veteran newspaper and television journalist. He is a two-year member of the Education Writers Association.