When students enter kindergarten, 7th grade, and 12th grade, their school will check to make sure they have their needed vaccines.
State Health Director Dr Kelly Kimple said staying current on vaccines helps prevent outbreaks at schools and it keeps families and communities safe.
"We also know that we have decades of experience with these vaccines, and millions of children are safely vaccinated each year.
Serious side effects are rare, extremely rare, and most kids have no reaction or just mild symptoms, like a sore red arm, which really shows that their immune system is learning to protect them," she explained.
In addition to required vaccinations, students who never attended a public school in North Carolina are also required to have a health assessment, regardless of the grade level
In order for your child to have a smooth start to the school year, it's recommended that they have a health assessment and required vaccinations.
In Cumberland County, the district's health director, Shirley Bolden, is spreading the word about required vaccination and what can happen if your child isn't up to date on immunizations.
She said it's important for students to be in compliance within 30 days of the start of school.
" At day 15, we send home. It's called an impending dismissal letter. So we send that home just as a Hey mom, we know you're busy. Hey Dad, we know you're busy, but we need this information from you for your child no later than day 30," explained Bolden.
"Just because you have an appointment on day 31 or you have an appointment that's like four days out, your child will not be permitted to attend school. They will be dismissed," she continued.
Bolden said Cumberland County Schools will host a vaccine clinic in September for students who may be new to the area.
For now, they are encouraging parents to schedule an appointment with their primary care physician to make sure their children are ready to go on day 1.
"Our compliance numbers are not what we desire them to be. One kid dismissed is one kid too many for us, because that's loss of instruction time."
North Carolina Law only allows medical and religious exemptions for vaccines. Personal and philosophical beliefs can't be used for exemptions.
For a list of required vaccinations visit DHHS