Louisiana Exemptions for School Vaccine Requirements
No Shots, No School, Not True!
Your Rights at a Glance
Louisiana Exemptions Explained
*This page applies to vaccine requirements for schools, colleges, universities, and licensed daycares. For EMPLOYER vaccine mandates please visit our Religious Exemptions to Employer Vaccine Mandates page.
Across the country, vaccine “exemptions” are typically classified as either medical, religious, or philosophical/personal belief. In Louisiana, we are extremely fortunate that the law pertaining to vaccine requirements for schools and daycares doesn’t specify nor limit what kind of “exemption” facilities may accept. In fact, Louisiana law, R.S. 17:170 (“R.S” stands for Revised Statute) merely requires information to be collected, either:
► evidence of immunity OR
► evidence of immunization OR
► a written statement from a physician stating that the procedure is contraindicated for medical reasons OR
► a written dissent from the student or parent/guardian (if student is a minor).
To dissent just means to disagree, and here you would be disagreeing with the request for the student’s immunization information, for whatever reason. The law makes no mention of religious or philosophical reasons because no reason is needed to dissent. So to be in compliance with the law, schools merely need to have one of those documents in the student’s file, and there’s no specific form that must be completed (though we do have a written dissent you can print linked above). Likewise, under R.S. 17:170, parents have the right to opt out of providing information regarding one, some, or all school vaccine requirements.
You can read the law in its entirety here; the exemption paragraph is Section E*:
E.(1) No person attending or seeking to enter any school or facility enumerated in Subsection A of this Section shall be required to comply with the provisions of this Section, including any additional immunization or proof of immunity requirement adopted pursuant to the provisions of this Section, if the person is a distance learner or if the person or his parent or guardian submits either a written statement from a physician stating that the procedure is contraindicated for medical reasons or a written dissent from the student or his parent or guardian.
Schools' Obligations & Your Rights
It is important to know that “exemptions” in Louisiana have existed since vaccine requirements were first enacted, reflecting the legislature’s belief that parents should always have the choice to vaccinate their children or not. With that in mind, understanding the purpose and intent of R.S. 17:170 is key.
As stated above, for schools to be in compliance with the law, they merely need to have a document in the student’s file – either proof of immunity, an immunization record, a note from a physician, or a written dissent from the student or parent/guardian (if student is a minor). There’s no specific form that must be completed (though we do provide a written dissent you can use for your convenience). The Louisiana Department of Health, who is charged with setting and enforcing vaccine requirements for school, echoes this: “The parent or guardian simply provides their child’s name and states their decision to exempt their child from the school vaccination requirements, and files this with the day care operator or school principal. . . . There is no requirement for the document to be notarized, and all requests are granted.”
Even if your children are vaccinated, you can still submit a written dissent, and we encourage it! By doing so, you’re choosing not to disclose your family’s private medical information — and that is your right. Many people believe school vaccine requirements infringe on medical privacy. Submitting a written dissent is a lawful way to protect that privacy and push back against increasing government overreach.
In the 2024 legislative session we helped pass THREE laws that further protected parental and student rights:
The Law Applies to ALL Daycares, Schools, Colleges
Public, Charter, Private, or Catholic - It doesn't matter - They are ALL LEGALLY REQUIRED to Accept Your Statement of Dissent!
You read that right. It doesn’t matter if they receive state funding or not. ALL licensed daycares and ALL schools MUST accept your statement of dissent. This includes public, charter, private, Catholic, Christian, vocational schools, medical schools, nursing schools, etc.
Unfortunately, many administrators are misinformed. Usually though, upon notifying them of the law (mention it specifically: R.S. 17:170, read as “revised statute seventeen one seventy”) they comply. If you’re met with resistance, it may help to print out the law and attach it to the exemption, though it’s not necessary.
How do we know it applies to ALL schools?
Here’s the text taken from the statute: Each person entering any school within the state for the first time, including elementary and secondary schools, kindergartens, colleges, universities, proprietary schools, vocational schools, and licensed day care centers. . . Chief administrators of all elementary and secondary schools, kindergartens, colleges, universities, proprietary schools, vocational schools, and licensed daycare centers whether public or private within this state. . .
Jeff Landry, when he was Attorney General, spelled it out beautifully in a memorandum directed to “all Louisiana citizens, especially parents and guardians of school aged children”:
It is important for parents to understand that while schools may adopt policies that are reasonable and necessary to protect students and others, these policies may not be designed in such a way that defeat the right to dissent from a vaccine requirement. Furthermore, these policies may not be discriminatory, punitive, and retaliatory towards a child or a parent that dissents from a vaccine requirement for their child. It is just as important for parents and educators to remember that our State Law and our State Constitution enshrine students with extensive religious and philosophical protections … Louisiana Revised Statute 17:170 regulates immunization requirements for all Louisiana public and private schools, including elementary and secondary schools, kindergartens, colleges, universities, proprietary schools, vocational schools, and licensed day care centers.
Another reference you can use is the Louisiana Department of Health website – they specifically talk about immunization exemptions for school vaccine requirements: “There is no requirement for the document to be notarized, and all requests are granted.”
If once informed they still refuse to comply with the law, contact your state representative/senator (find yours here). Sometimes all it takes is a phone call or two. And of course, Health Freedom Louisiana is here to help as well!
Your Statement of Dissent Does NOT Need to Be Notarized
Don’t do it!
If the daycare or school tells you your written dissent must be notarized, they are wrong. Reference the law, Revised Statutes 17:170 (specifically Section E where it states what you need to submit and note that there is NO mention of a requirement to notarize) and the Louisiana Department of Health’s statement on their website affirming what the law declares: “There is no requirement for the document to be notarized, and all requests are granted.”
So please don’t get it notarized — it’s neither required nor supported by the law. We push back against schools and daycares that try to demand notarization, because it places an unnecessary burden on parents. Notarizing can unintentionally send the wrong message — it may lead administrators to believe the statement isn’t valid unless it’s notarized. We want to avoid reinforcing that misconception.
You Do NOT Need to Submit a Dissent Every Year
Your statement of dissent needs to be submitted each time immunization information is requested. The law clearly identifies three points when this happens:
- when entering any school within the state for the first time (for the DTaP, HepA, HepB, IPV, MMR, VAR vaccines)
- when entering the sixth grade (for Tdap and meningitis vaccines)
- when entering the eleventh grade (for second dose of meningitis vaccine)
So if a school requests a statement of dissent from you at any other time, know that you have every right to decline—the law does not require it. Again, many school administrators are simply misinformed. Take it as an opportunity to educate them on what the law actually states. You can even refer them to this webpage!
For Anyone Battling Schools or Licensed Daycares
If they make any reference to the law/statute (R.S. 17:170) in their handbook or correspondence you’ve got them.
When you sign registration forms and the handbook, you are in essence signing a contract with the school. Enter some contract law:
To reference the statute (R.S. 17:170) WITHOUT informing parents that students are afforded exemptions under that same law (Section E) misleads parents into thinking they have no other option except fully vaccinating according to the CDC schedule.
⚠️WHETHER IT’S BEING DONE BY ERROR OR FRAUD IT DOESN’T MATTER.
It’s still illegal and vitiates (impairs the legal validity of) consent, according to Civil Code Articles 1948, 1949, and 1953:
💥Any contract made based upon misrepresentation of the law is subject to nullification due to a vice of consent, either by error, fraud, or duress. (CC 1948)
💥Error vitiates consent only when it concerns a cause without which the obligation would not have been incurred and that cause was known or should have been known to the other party. (CC 1949)
💥Fraud is a misrepresentation or a suppression of the truth made with the intention either to obtain an unjust advantage for one party or to cause a loss or inconvenience to the other. Fraud may also result from silence or inaction. (CC 1953)
Remember, with the passage of Act 675, the schools are LEGALLY REQUIRED to inform you of exemptions! So if they do not in their handbook or any correspondence, THEY ARE BREAKING THE LAW.
And what does Paragraph (1) of the Subsection state?
If They Say "We're a private/Catholic school so we don't have to accept it", Here's How You Prove Them Wrong
➡️ As mentioned above, for general vaccine requirements, R.S. 17:170 states that it applies to BOTH public AND private schools:
💥In the very first section, Section A, of the law it states “ANY SCHOOL”.
💥In Section D it states “WHETHER PUBLIC OR PRIVATE”.
💥In Section E (1) (the exemption clause) it states “ANY SCHOOL”.
➡️ For the meningococcal vaccine requirement, R.S. 17:170.4 states that it applies to BOTH public AND private schools:
💥In Section A it states “local PUBLIC school or NONPUBLIC school”
💥Under Chapter 11 Health §1101. Immunization the entirety of the vaccine requirement law, R.S. 17:170, is stated, including the right to an exemption.
💥Under Chapter 1 Operation & Administration §107. School Approval section F it states:
Accredited schools shall be approved by BESE for the duration of such accreditation, up to five years. BESE approval shall be reviewed in the school year following the renewal of such accreditation. Each accredited, approved school shall annually demonstrate to the LDE that the school meets the health, safety, and welfare requirements as established in this bulletin…