Sec. 42.04305. VACCINE-PREVENTABLE DISEASE POLICY REQUIRED. (a) In this section:

(1) "Facility employee" means an employee of a child-care facility.

(2) "Vaccine-preventable diseases" means the diseases included in the most current recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(b) Each child-care facility, other than a facility that provides care in the home of the director, owner, operator, or caretaker of the facility, shall develop and implement a policy to protect the children in its care from vaccine-preventable diseases.

(c) The policy must:

(1) require each facility employee to receive vaccines for the vaccine-preventable diseases specified by the child-care facility based on the level of risk the employee presents to children by the employee's routine and direct exposure to children;

(2) specify the vaccines a facility employee is required to receive based on the level of risk the employee presents to children by the employee's routine and direct exposure to children;

(3) include procedures for verifying whether a facility employee has complied with the policy;

(4) include procedures for a facility employee to be exempt from the required vaccines for the medical conditions identified as contraindications or precautions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

(5) for a facility employee who is exempt from the required vaccines, include procedures the employee must follow to protect children in the facility's care from exposure to disease, such as the use of protective medical equipment, including gloves and masks, based on the level of risk the employee presents to children by the employee's routine and direct exposure to children;

(6) prohibit discrimination or retaliatory action against a facility employee who is exempt from the required vaccines for the medical conditions identified as contraindications or precautions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, except that required use of protective medical equipment, including gloves and masks, may not be considered retaliatory action for purposes of this subdivision;

(7) require the child-care facility to maintain a written or electronic record of each facility employee's compliance with or exemption from the policy; and

(8) state the disciplinary actions the child-care facility is authorized to take against a facility employee who fails to comply with the policy.

(d) The policy shall include procedures for a facility employee to be exempt from the required vaccines based on reasons of conscience, including a religious belief.

(e) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section.

Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1144 (S.B. 64), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.