New statewide immunization rules are set to take effect for Pennsylvania students in the 2017-18 school year.

According to a parental notice from Lehighton Area School District, the change in immunizations will affect high school students by requiring an additional dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (meningitis/MCV) given after age 16, but before the start of 12th grade.The first dose of the meningitis vaccine is given before entrance into seventh grade.At the same time in middle school, one dose of tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap) is required for the start of seventh grade. A fourth dose of polio vaccine given on or after the child's fourth birthday and at least six months after the previous dose is also now required at all grade levels.Lehighton is asking parents or guardians to contact their family doctor to obtain the information or schedule an appointment.Proof of the immunizations should be sent to the school nurse in the child's building."Any child not meeting the above state requirements for the 2017-18 school year will be excluded from attendance on the first day of school according to Pennsylvania law," the parental notice states.If a child has medical assistance, the Pennsylvania Department of Health offers an immunization clinic once a month. Call 570-325-6106 for more information or schedule an appointment.Pleasant Valley School District also has a link on its homepage listing the required vaccinations for students.Other changesDepartment of Health officials said the regulations begin on Aug. 1.Also under the changes, the current provisional waiver of eight months for school children to be fully immunized is reduced to five school days. The student must obtain the next or final dose within that five-day window or risk being excluded from school.However, the student may attend school provisionally beyond the five days if he or she submits a medical certificate from a health care provider outlining the dates for additional vaccination.The proposal changes the time for school administrators or designees to review medical certificates for student compliance from every 60 days to every 30 days.It also extends the deadline for schools to report immunization data to the Department of Health from Oct. 15 to Dec. 31.Students who are homeless as defined under the McKinney Vento Act are excluded from these rules.Also, children transferring from outside the state as well as children in foster care will have 30 days to provide immunization records or provide a medical certificate.