--- title: California Passes Bill That Would Mandate Vaccinations description: Months after a measles outbreak infected dozens across the state, U.S. canonical: https://time.com/3936402/california-vaccinations-kids/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-25T19:52:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:22.138Z article:section: Health og:title: California Moves Toward Stricter Vaccination Rules for Schoolchildren og:description: Months after a measles outbreak infected dozens og:url: https://time.com/3936402/california-vaccinations-kids/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c3332612cf16a58/6988587cf887dc5226e911b1/vaccine-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Vaccine og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: California Moves Toward Stricter Vaccination Rules for Schoolchildren twitter:description: Months after a measles outbreak infected dozens twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c3332612cf16a58/6988587cf887dc5226e911b1/vaccine-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # California Moves Toward Stricter Vaccination Rules for Schoolchildren ## Video: Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk [Watch (HLS stream): Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ai82XWJ8.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2014-09-24. TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 25, 2015 7:52 PM UTC  Vaccination Protection Influenza Vaccination Protection InfluenzaGetty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 25, 2015 7:52 PM UTC Lawmakers in California’s Assembly [approved a bill](http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-vaccine-mandate-bill-up-for-vote-thursday-in-california-assembly-20150624-story.html) Thursday that would make vaccinations required for schoolchildren, regardless of any parental or religious objection. The measure, if signed by Governor Jerry Brown following Senate approval of several minor amendments, would be among the strictest mandatory vaccination laws in the U.S., the Los Angeles _Times_ reported. The only way for children starting school to avoid a vaccination against whooping cough and measles would be for a doctor to sign off on an exemption due to a medical condition, like an immune system deficiency or an allergy. The move comes in the months after a measles outbreak that sickened some 130 people, including visitors to Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. If the bill becomes law, California would become the country’s 32nd state to mandate vaccinations regardless of personal beliefs, but only the third to block religious exemptions. Read more at the [_Los Angeles Times_](http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-vaccine-mandate-bill-up-for-vote-thursday-in-california-assembly-20150624-story.html). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3936402/california-vaccinations-kids/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3936402/california-vaccinations-kids/"},"headline":"California Moves Toward Stricter Vaccination Rules for Schoolchildren","datePublished":"2015-06-25T19:52:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:06:22.138Z","description":"Months after a measles outbreak infected dozens","url":"https://time.com/3936402/california-vaccinations-kids/","keywords":["Public Health","Infectious Disease","vaccinations"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c3332612cf16a58/6988587cf887dc5226e911b1/vaccine-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c3332612cf16a58/6988587cf887dc5226e911b1/vaccine-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vaccine","caption":"Vaccine","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3936402/california-vaccinations-kids/","name":"California Moves Toward Stricter Vaccination Rules for Schoolchildren"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk","description":"TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ai82XWJ8/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-24T20:18:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ai82XWJ8.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3936402/california-vaccinations-kids/","duration":"PT2M6S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3936402/california-vaccinations-kids/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```