Immunization

Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA)

The Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) (external link)  requires children and youth attending school in Ontario to be vaccinated against certain diseases. Parents/guardians are responsible for reporting their child’s immunizations to Public Health and keeping their records up to date. 

For the 2026/2027 school year, Halton Region Public Health will be enforcing Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) (external link)  for students born 2009 to 2014, and 2016 to 2019 who are missing immunization records with Public Health. 

Have you received a vaccine letter from Public Health? You may have received a letter because: 

• Your child’s immunizations have not been reported to Public Health.
• Your child is missing a required vaccine.
• Your child received vaccines that do not meet the requirements of Ontario's routine immunization schedule.

If you have recently reported your child’s immunization record, you may still receive a letter due to processing times. 

To attend school, students must have current immunization records on file (or a valid vaccine exemption) for the following diseases: 

• Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Polio;
• Measles, Mumps, Rubella;
• Meningococcal Disease; and
• Varicella (chickenpox) (required for children born in 2010 or later).

Important: Some vaccines, such as Influenza (flu), Hepatitis B, and Human Papillomavirus (HPV), are recommended by the Ontario Publicly Funded Immunization Schedule but are not required for school attendance under the ISPA.  

If your child cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, or if you choose not to your child, you must submit a vaccine exemption to Halton Region Public Health. For more details about this process, please visit the Vaccine Exemption for Children page.

Please note: All immunization records submitted to Halton Region Public Health are individually reviewed and processed by staff. We are currently experiencing a high volume of record submissions, and the processing time is four to five weeks. 

Students and/or parents/guardians are encouraged to login to Immunization Connect Ontario (external link) (ICON) to verify the online record has been updated, and to make sure no additional vaccines are required. We thank you for your patience during this time.