Health department records show more than 8,000 students across Mobile and Baldwin county schools are missing updated immunization paperwork, a compliance gap that local officials say they are working to close without turning students away from class.
According to Mobile County Health Department figures, about 10 percent of Mobile County public school students lack current immunization records, known statewide as “blue cards.” Public schools across the Mobile, Chickasaw, Saraland and Satsuma districts reported 62,812 students enrolled, with 2,924 carrying expired cards and another 3,471 having no card on file at all, for a combined total of 6,395 students out of compliance.
Private schools in Mobile County reported a smaller but still notable gap. Of 11,743 enrolled students, 349 had expired blue cards and 187 had none on file, adding up to 536 students not in compliance.
Baldwin County’s numbers, which combine public and private school enrollment, showed a lower overall rate of noncompliance. Of 30,217 total students enrolled, 356 had no blue card and 885 carried expired cards, for 1,241 students, or about 4 percent, out of compliance.
State law requires children enrolled in day cares, Head Start programs, and public or private schools to have an immunization certificate before registration. Even so, officials said the lack of a blue card will not keep a child out of the classroom this year, breaking from past practice when schools sent noncompliant students home.
“We allow any student to enroll, but it is a priority to ensure that child had all required immunizations as soon as possible,” said Malissa Valdes-Hubert, public information manager at the Alabama Department of Education, describing the state’s approach of working with families rather than excluding students.
Federal law also plays a role in how schools handle the issue. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act bars schools from denying enrollment to a child experiencing homelessness because of missing immunization or health records. In those cases, Valdes-Hubert said, school officials work with families to connect them with social services, including access to immunizations.
For families still working through the process, the Alabama Department of Public Health can issue a temporary 30-day card while a student completes the required shots, though it falls to individual school districts to make sure families follow through after that window closes.
Parents may also seek religious or medical exemptions from the immunization requirement. However, officials cautioned that in the event of a disease outbreak, schools retain the authority to require unvaccinated students to stay home for safety reasons, a concern that has drawn added attention in recent months amid outbreaks reported elsewhere in the region.