5 ms·

The Waldorf school, especially the one in Silicon Valley, has one of the lowest levels of immunization rates of children in the state, if not the country. The

The Waldorf school, especially the one in Silicon Valley, has one of the lowest levels of immunization rates of children in the state, if not the country. The simple fact that the parents and school reject what is well-understood science speaks volumes, in my opinion.

esmi 8y ago
Do you have a source for this? The Silicon Valley one has a stated school policy that requires students and faculty to follow state law. http://waldorfpeninsula.org/about-us/immunization-policy/ http://waldorfpeninsula.org/about-us/immunization-policy/
- gnicholas 8y ago
  I wondered about this also, especially in the wake of the recent CA law that eliminated personal belief exemptions. The article linked below talks about various CA Waldorf schools, but not the SV one. Also, it specifically talks about the personal belief exemption, which isn't available anymore. I should note that the medical exemption rate is up since this change in law, [1] perhaps owing to abuse of the medical exemption, or perhaps owing to people who have a legitimate medical need now being forced to get a doctor's note, instead of just being able to opt out based on personal belief. 1: http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-vaccine-medical-exemptions-20181029-story.html http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-vaccine-...
- pound 8y ago
  EDIT: I've missed that personal belief exemption is no longer allowed. Anyway, what's below shows that it WAS an issue, and quite recently. Also while kids should be vaccinated now due to the law it still tells something about ideas parents hold. --- "We require parents to follow all state laws regarding immunization" actually allows "personal belief exemptions", since it is a part of laws. And few links from few years ago: SF: https://www.sfwaldorf.org/uploaded/docs/gs/gs_health_and_illness_guide_2015-16.pdf https://www.sfwaldorf.org/uploaded/docs/gs/gs_health_and_ill... Also "On the other side of the bay, about two-thirds of the students at the private Waldorf School in upscale Los Altos Hills didn’t have the proper immunizations." - https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/01/26/measles-outbreak-low-vaccination-rates-at-some-bay-area-schools-raise-alarm/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/01/26/measles-outbreak-low-... In general official Waldorf policy is that there is no policy
whyenot 8y ago
Please include a source, so others can evaluate the accuracy of what you are claiming.
- 2chen 8y ago
  Another commenter included a source: https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/waldorf-association-schools-are-leading-vaccine-exemption-private-schools https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/waldorf-association-sc.... The article gives the rate of non-medical exemptions (for immunizations) for some Waldorf schools, but doesn't give the state average for NMEs (which, as an aside, seems to have been legislated away in California recently). Nevertheless, the numbers are over 50% which seem staggeringly high for an exemption rate. It's also not surprising that a school that embraces technological asceticism has its share of parents who embrace the anti-vax movement.

esmi 8y ago

Do you have a source for this? The Silicon Valley one has a stated school policy that requires students and faculty to follow state law. http://waldorfpeninsula.org/about-us/immunization-policy/ http://waldorfpeninsula.org/about-us/immunization-policy/

gnicholas 8y ago
I wondered about this also, especially in the wake of the recent CA law that eliminated personal belief exemptions. The article linked below talks about various CA Waldorf schools, but not the SV one. Also, it specifically talks about the personal belief exemption, which isn't available anymore. I should note that the medical exemption rate is up since this change in law, [1] perhaps owing to abuse of the medical exemption, or perhaps owing to people who have a legitimate medical need now being forced to get a doctor's note, instead of just being able to opt out based on personal belief. 1: http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-vaccine-medical-exemptions-20181029-story.html http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-vaccine-...
pound 8y ago
EDIT: I've missed that personal belief exemption is no longer allowed. Anyway, what's below shows that it WAS an issue, and quite recently. Also while kids should be vaccinated now due to the law it still tells something about ideas parents hold. --- "We require parents to follow all state laws regarding immunization" actually allows "personal belief exemptions", since it is a part of laws. And few links from few years ago: SF: https://www.sfwaldorf.org/uploaded/docs/gs/gs_health_and_illness_guide_2015-16.pdf https://www.sfwaldorf.org/uploaded/docs/gs/gs_health_and_ill... Also "On the other side of the bay, about two-thirds of the students at the private Waldorf School in upscale Los Altos Hills didn’t have the proper immunizations." - https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/01/26/measles-outbreak-low-vaccination-rates-at-some-bay-area-schools-raise-alarm/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/01/26/measles-outbreak-low-... In general official Waldorf policy is that there is no policy

whyenot 8y ago

Please include a source, so others can evaluate the accuracy of what you are claiming.

2chen 8y ago
Another commenter included a source: https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/waldorf-association-schools-are-leading-vaccine-exemption-private-schools https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/waldorf-association-sc.... The article gives the rate of non-medical exemptions (for immunizations) for some Waldorf schools, but doesn't give the state average for NMEs (which, as an aside, seems to have been legislated away in California recently). Nevertheless, the numbers are over 50% which seem staggeringly high for an exemption rate. It's also not surprising that a school that embraces technological asceticism has its share of parents who embrace the anti-vax movement.