Immunizations and School Requirements

School Requirements

Georgia law requires all children who attend childcare or enroll in school to be protected against these vaccine-preventable diseases: diphtheria, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, Hib, measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, tetanus, varicella (chickenpox), polio, pneumococcal, and meningococcal disease. This includes all children attending all public and private schools, including day care, Head Start, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten through 12th grade. Like putting on a seat belt even if you don’t expect to be in an accident, it is always better to prevent a disease with vaccines than to treat it after the disease occurs. Visit the Georgia Department of Public Health’s online information and resources on school immunization requirements.

District 4’s county health departments offer quality, low-cost vaccines as well as the completed forms you will need to submit to your child’s school. Appointments are required; call (800) 847-4262. For your child’s appointment, please bring a copy of your child’s immunization record if you have a copy. If you don’t have a copy, the health department should be able to access the Georgia Registry of Immunization Transactions and Services (GRITS) for a record of your child’s past immunizations if they were provided in Georgia.

Here are the three key documents* a student must have on file when enrolling in a Georgia school for the first time.

• Georgia Immunization Certificate (Form 3231)*: If your child will be attending a Georgia school for the first time, your local health department or physician’s office can let you know the specific immunizations your child needs. They will then provide you with a completed Form 3231 after administering the appropriate vaccines to your child. If your child has received vaccines in another state, you may need to bring proper documentation from that state. “First-time” students not only are those entering childcare, pre-K, kindergarten, etc., but also refers to older students who are attending school in Georgia for the first time (or who have been absent from a Georgia school for more than 12 months or one school year).
• Georgia Certificate of Vision, Hearing, Dental, and Nutrition Screening (Form 3300): All children enrolled in a pre-kindergarten program or public school must have this certificate on file at their school. Your local health department or physician can conduct these screenings and complete this form.
• Certified Birth Certificate: You also will need to provide your child’s school with an official proof of birth date. If your child was born in any county in Georgia, you can obtain a certified copy of their birth certificate at District 4’s Vital Records Offices at our health departments in Carroll, Meriwether, Spalding, Troup, and Upson counties. You will need to show your Georgia driver’s license or state identification card, and either parent may pick up certificates.

*Accepted documentation: Valid Form 3231 OR Form 3231 with medical exemption OR a notarized religious exemption (Form 2208), See Information on Immunization Exemptions (Medical or Religious).

Seventh-Grade Requirements

Rising seventh grade students—or those entering a Georgia school for the first time in grades 8 through 12—must have received one dose of Tdap vaccine and one dose of meningococcal vaccine. (A “first-time” student is any child entering any school in Georgia for the first time or entering after having been absent from a Georgia school for more than 12 months or one school year.) Your county health department or physician’s office can provide the two vaccines along with an updated Georgia Certificate of Immunization (Form 3231). You will need to provide an updated copy of Form 3231 to your child’s school, which is required by the state to have on file.

Although it is not required to attend school in Georgia, the HPV vaccine is recommended to both boys and girls at ages 11-12 (but can be given as early as 9) to protect against cancers and other diseases caused by human papillomavirus. A second dose of HPV vaccine should be received six to 12 months after the first dose.

Eleventh-Grade Requirements

Effective July 1, 2021, children 16 years of age and older who are entering the 11th grade (including new entrants) must have received one booster dose of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4), unless their initial dose was administered on or after their 16th birthday. (A new entrant means any child entering any school in Georgia for the first time or entering after having been absent from a Georgia school for more than 12 months or one school year.) MCV4 helps prevent meningococcal disease, a bacterial infection that can be very dangerous. Your county health department or physician’s office can provide the vaccine along with an updated Georgia Certificate of Immunization (Form 3231). You will need to provide an updated copy of Form 3231 to your child’s school, which is required by the state to have it on file.