When Religion and School politics meet, who wins? Not the students!

Should a parents religious belief versus a school Superintendant's rules keep a 7th grade girl out of school?

In a Niagara County New York School District that is exactly what is happening.

Sources, Buffalo News, WBEN Radio Buffalo NY. Weds. 9/8/04

A Royalton Heartland 7th grader is being kept out of school because her parents do not believe in immunizations for thier children. The Superintendant of the school is refusing to let the girl attend classes, saying the school has a right to decide who is allowed to attend, which is in discord with New York State Law, which allows exceptions based on religous beliefs. The immunization in question is for Hepatitis B which is required for all 7th grade students.

So this comes down to a power stuggle between the school and the girls parents, but where does the student fall into this, is anyone even thinking about her? I have always thought that a schools first concern is for the education of children, which is what they are denying her. They should allow her to go to school and work out the problems later. So many kids hate school now, why make it easy for her to do that? The rest of her school life may be effected by this. Let the poor girl go to school!

legally if you dont have your immunizations, you cant go to school, caseclosed. If they made an exception for her, and she got hep B in school, theyd not only be in serious trouble, but a liability factor would have all the administration involved loose theyre jobs.

Ok then test the girl for Hepatitis and then let her in. I don't think that this is what it is about. They have made exceptions based on beliefs. I think this is about a Superintendant strutting her power.When it should be about the education of a child.

This doesn't have to be a power struggle, its more of a decision.

The parents can either pay for expensive private schooling, or they can pay for a shot and let her attend public school.

In my opinion, the parents are stupid not to get their child immunized.

Originally posted by jeeze louise
Ok then test the girl for Hepatitis and then let her in. I don't think that this is what it is about. They have made exceptions based on beliefs. I think this is about a Superintendant strutting her power.When it should be about the education of a child.

First, its not the supers decission, its the country-wide board of health and such. you have be be all up to do and immune or else you cant attend school. If she contracts Hep B in school, and they let her in knowing she didnt have her immunizations, then theyd be in a big pile of dung. It all has to do with law suits, safety, etc. And no exceptions are to be made based on beliefs.

I agree, the parents are stupid. Lets say I started a religion in which it was a sin to give food to children. People would say I was crazy. Refusing immunizations is the same thing, only less extreme. The school is doing the right thing in protecting the rest of the students.

Um, what sort of religion doesn't allow for immunizations?

Is it the same ones that doesn't allow for cancer treatments or drugs for the deathfully ill who are in extreme pain?

Jehovanist witnesses dont allowed immunizations, organ donations, blood transfusions, or medical treatment I believe

If they let the girl in because her religion didnt allow immunizations, pretty soon no one would ever take immunizations. This isn't about a poor defensless little girl being denied an education by the schol board, these are some stupid parents that are too religious to get immunizations (which could possibly save their childs life) and too lazy to find her a homeschool group.

It's law, not religion.

Originally posted by WolfofWar
Jehovanist witnesses dont allowed immunizations, organ donations, blood transfusions, or medical treatment I believe

Actualy is a matter of personal choice I had worked with children from these religion and they all had their records.

It could be a way for the family to prove a point, and again if the children in the school has their immunizations she will not post a risk at all.

And yes again it is state mandatory to have children immunizations up to day for school.

Originally posted by Scat
If they let the girl in because her religion didnt allow immunizations, pretty soon no one would ever take immunizations.

You mean her parents religion, not necessarily hers unless she has been forced/brainwashed into it since birth.

It seems like one big brawl over something that could be aided if the child were given a voice in the matter. Which she wasn't.

Sure sure, it wasn't the girl's religion, but you have to remember that the US school system IS NOT a democracy. Studnets are minors with little to no rights whatsoever. Everything is approved by the parent. MNaybe the kid wants to take SexEd, but if the parent says no, then the child doesn't do it. Maybe the child wants to learn about evolution, but once again. if the parent says no, the child does not do it. In the immunization case, the child was not given a voice in the matter because the child really doesnt have one in the first place.

I'm ahighschool student, and I DO think children should have a much bigger voice in the community. The school board and parents aren't the ones sitting in overcrowded classrooms with no books and asbestos in the cieling! WE ARE!

But honestly, in the case of immunizations,it's law, it's common sense, it's just the way it is whether or not the child's religion is the same as the parents. Compare it to having to get a physical before entering sports eh?

The kid is getting screwed because of the parent's beliefs, but letting the girl into school without immunization is tearing down the already feeble structure the educational system is based on.