BENTONVILLE (KFSM) – More than 150 students in the Bentonville School District were not allowed in class Monday (Oct. 6) because they were not up-to-date on their required vaccinations, administrators said.
A new state law mandates students receive vaccinations for several potential illnesses, including chicken pox. Students were required to receive those immunizations by Oct. 1, but local school districts worked with area parents to give students more time to schedule vaccinations.
"Our nurses, administrators, building administrators and registrars have been working diligently to call parents and inform them that their child is out of compliance," said Paul Stolt, Bentonville School District spokesman.
By Monday morning, 153 students were held out of classes because of missing vaccination requirements. That number may soon drop as students quickly get their vaccines and turn in the required paperwork, according to the spokesman.
Of the students held out, 126 were at Bentonville High School. Eighteen are junior high students, and seven go to local middle schools. Two students missing their vaccination requirements are from local elementary schools, the spokesman said.
The students will be allowed back in school as they receive their vaccines. All absences will be excused, and the students will still receive their schoolwork.
“A suspension would imply these children have done something wrong,” Stolt said. “These children haven’t done anything wrong. They just are out of compliance with the state law.”
Jessica Eldred, a spokeswoman for Mercy Medical Center in Rogers, said the hospital system has seen an increase in demand for vaccinations over the last month.
“Our phones have been ringing. Our coworkers have been very busy,” she said.
The Springdale School District’s deadline for students’ vaccinations is Tuesday, with others staggered behind. The Fayetteville and Rogers School Districts have not set a deadline.
Eight Fayetteville students Sept. 18 were declared to be out of school over the following three weeks because they did not have varicella chickenpox vaccines. Students who potentially have come into contact with someone with chickenpox are required to be held out of school for 21 days, if they are not up-to-date on vaccines or cannot prove they have had chickenpox in the past.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated influenza was one of the state-required vaccines. It is not. 5NEWS regrets the error.