I'm a retired lawyer. I no longer practice. Thankfully. :) It's not so much that a law would need to passed to create new civil liability, but rather tort law may be evolving in that direction based on existing caselaw/precedent. The ABA discussion is currently a theoretical one among tort law experts. But, believe me, if tort lawyers think they can make money off these outbreaks, they will. And if I was not vaccinating my children, without a medical reason to make that choice, I would be very concerned that my choice could impact my pocketbook in the event of an outbreak. The issue you raise is a factual question, which is one for the jury, based on the evidence (the expert would render an opinion, testify to the reliability of the opinion, etc.). The larger issue that I am raising is that negligence/tort law may be evolving to encompass these types of claims against people choosing not to vaccinate -- something which many people many not have considered.

I handled my husband's immigration to the U.S. (from Canada), and he had to prove that he was vaxed or show titers with immunity. Otherwise, he got the jab.

I'm not an epidemiologist, but I don't see it out of the realm of possibility that one would simply hire an expert to testify to this issue. Tort lawyers use expert testimony all the time in medical negligence cases. I'm not advocating for tort liability, though I do find it an interesting question, and one which I think that people should be aware when they make these choices.

Also, since it is related, there are tort lawyers pushing for negligence liability and civil damages awards where unvaxed people transmit communicable diseases to others. This article popped up on my American Bar Association feed. http://www.abajournal.com/mobile/mag_article/lawyers_quarrel_over_tort_liability_after_the_disneyland_measles_outbreak “Someone who causes harm in defiance of the consensus of science, health and government authorities should bear those costs,†she adds. “It’s not fair to force others to pay for your own unreasonable choices.â€

I believe the age cutoff is now September 1st, which is one of the reasons so many are choosing to redshirt. Also, AB 713 is currently working its way through the legislature to make Kindy mandatory.

I honestly think you are just trolling if you think that vaccines don't have an overall net benefit to society. I'm not going to debate the settled science of vaccines, or how choosing not to vax can affect others.

I sooooo need this vax.

That would be fabulous in a world where other people's vaccination choices didn't impact the health of others. Unfortunately, we don't live in that world. But, what do I know -- I'm just one of those drugged up people with a mental illness.

Thank you for sharing this. I have never come across this interpretation of the law. Most of the people in my area believe that those homeschooling through charters with onsite classes will be required to vax. There has been so much misinformation floating around.

I understand that, and believe that is part of the problem. With so many PBEs, the actual vaccination rate is obscured. Not the best way to go about making public policy/health decisions.

I cannot answer that. It is a homeschool charter with optional onsite classes. Most of the people who attend are not onsite. My son's classes have maybe 15-20 kids in them. I'm not aware of any outbreaks though, no. I actually vaxed my oldest for MMR when he started a French immersion preschool. Many of the students and their families fly back to France during the summer, and I thought that there was a very real risk that one of those families would bring Measles back with them. (The preschool also had a very low vaccination rate and France has quite a bit of Measles.)

Fair point. I think I am just exasperated by all the FB posts about this within my local community. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, as long as it is the anti-SB277 one. The minute someone shares a different view, it is a debate and immediately censored. It gets tiring.

I thought the intent was not to turn this into a debate thread? Personally, I don't buy into all the fearmongering and slippery slope arguments. The fact is that there are pockets of low vaccination all throughout California. As I mentioned, my son's charter school has a 47% vaccination rate -- well below herd immunity. And there are numerous schools throughout the state that have these sorts of abysmal rates of vaccination. Consequently, with so many people attempting to hide in the herd, outbreaks keep popping up. There was the 2010 outbreak of Pertussis, which had more than 9,000 cases. There was the Measles outbreak at Disneyland. There was another 10,000 cases of Pertussis in 2014. An unvaxed boy in Spain just died of Diphtheria. These are preventable deaths. The PBE was not working. Irresponsible (and one could argue, selfish) parents of healthy children were not vaxing because of "research" they did on the internet or on mommy message boards -- most of whom can't understand a PubMed article and rely on Mercola and sites with an obviously anti-vaccine agenda for their "research." And I say this as someone who had the same fears when my first son was born in 2009. This was pre-Wakefield being discredited and post-Dr. Sears' book -- both of which put a lot of fear into my mind about the safety of vaccines. As a result, my oldest was very delayed and selectively vaxed. In the 6 years since my oldest was born, a lot of research has been done into the safety of vaccines (including the aluminum load -- to Sears' point), the CDC schedule (the 'so many all at once' argument), the Autism connection (let's repeat: there is none). So, when my second child came around, I felt much more confident about vaccinating him on schedule. Thankfully, he has been no worse for the wear. So, I am sensitive to the concerns that parents have about vaccines. But, as the pockets of low vaccination rates and repeated outbreaks evidence, the current system wasn't working. I am not saying that SB277 is going to be a panacea, but, IMHO, it is a sensible move in the right direction. And other states will be watching to see how this plays out.

It is up to the doctor's discretion.

I agree with you about the bolded. People will be flocking to the Sears and Gordons of the world.

Ellie, I didn't see anything about SB 277. The link seems to reference old law. Am I missing it?

There is already a steady increase in homeschoolers in CA. I think that it would be difficult to tease out the effect of the bill, unless we see a spike. But, I agree, I don't think there will be a spike -- both because of the grandfathering provisions and because most people are simply unwilling or unable to take on homeschooling.

I got the impression that this is just the first book in a new series between Voyage and Magic Lens.

The CA Homeschool Network seems to believe that PSPs are exempt: http://www.californiahomeschool.net/legislation/currentbills/

I am friends with the co-author of the bill, who is also an attorney. My understanding, in speaking with her, is that you are exempt if you file a PSA or if your charter does not have onsite classes. If you take onsite classes through a public homeschooling charter, you will need to vax. My son's charter had a 47% vax rate, so those people will either file a PSA, obtain a medical exemption, or work with their ped on a catch up schedule. However, people who already have a PBE on file will be grandfathered in until the next time their kid moves up to either Kindy (if they have a PBE in daycare/preschool) or 7th grade. I don't know how it will affect PSPs. If they are private schools, then presumably they would have to collect vax records as well.

John Taylor of Duran Duran Donnie Walhberg of NKOTB Luc Robitaille of the LA Kings

As a native of Southern California, this comment struck me is funny. Do people actually like humidity? If we are talking about the same place, I wouldn't describe the area as desolate. There is amazing natural beauty and numerous outdoor activities within close proximity.

From RFWP: We are launching a new level between levels 3 and 4 of the Michael Clay Thompson Curriculum, and the first book is now available. These new books focus on the vocabulary, grammar, writing, and poetic techniques of the authors of the great classics of English and American literature. The first book, The Vocabulary of Literature, includes examples of the most frequently used words in the classics, word challenges, quizzes, exercises, creative readings, and biographies and photographs of famous authors, all combining to help students to pave a path to a lifetime's enjoyment and love of great literature. More: This is the first book in a new level between levels 3 and 4 because we have thought for some time that the gap between the Voyage level and the Magic Lens I/Word Within the Word I level was too large for some students. This new level will contain books that focus upon the words, grammar, writing, and poetic techniques of the great classics of English and American literature. In The Vocabulary of Literature there are ten chapters with examples of the most frequently used words in the classics, word challenges, quizzes, exercises, creative readings, biographies and photographs of famous authors. The aim is to help students to internalize these words, and to pave a wonderful path to a lifetime’s enjoyment and love of great literature. Each of the ten lessons presents ten new classic words, and ten words brought forward from Caesar’s English I and Caesar’s English II, so students have 200 powerful words to learn and use. These are not words chosen arbitrarily for the purpose of a textbook. They are the words most frequently used in classic literature as identified by MCT’s painstaking research and database. They are, therefore, the words he believes “must be known as a necessary component of an educated vocabulary.†The principal authors featured: Jack London, Jane Austen, Stephen Crane, Mary Shelley, Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and George Eliot. Because we love literature and visiting writers’ houses, we have included not only their portraits, but also our photographs of where they wrote and with what, including Jane Austen’s tiny writing table and Dickens’s desk. Jane Austen’s house is featured on the cover of the student book and Rudyard Kipling’s house is onthe teacher manual. http://www.rfwp.com/book/the-vocabulary-of-literature

As long as you think that you all can handle the climate, and that your DH will be content professionally, I would make the move. Definitely keep us updated!

So fabulously happy today!