Originally published February 17, 2015 at 9:12 PM | Page modified February 18, 2015 at 8:34 AM Amid rising concern about vaccination status, more than 300 schools in Washington state failed to report exemption rates in 2013-2014, state data show. As measles cases grow nationwide, and scrutiny intensifies for parents who choose not to vaccinate their children, Washington health officials say that more than 300 schools in the state have failed to report immunization-exemption rates as required by law. Nearly 200 of those are private schools, but more than 100 are public schools that operate using taxpayer money, according to data from the 2013-2014 school year released by the state Department of Health. That’s far fewer than in 2011-2012, when up to a third of the 2,648 Washington schools didn’t report, but it’s still too many, experts said. The schools in question appear to have failed to document how many of their students may be exempt from required vaccinations, citing medical, religious or personal reasons for not getting the shots, the data show. But officials with many schools said they actually have submitted the data and were surprised that the state doesn’t show it. In Washington, exemption rates range from a low of none — 123 schools report no exemptions — to a high of 71 percent of kids exempted at tiny Waldron Island School in the Orcas Island School District, with 14 students enrolled. In Seattle, both the Bright Water School and the Seattle Waldorf School reported exemption rates of nearly 44 percent for 2013-2014. Vital information When schools don’t report exemption rates accurately and by the Nov. 1 deadline set by the state, it leaves local citizens without vital information and can thwart efforts to stop a disease outbreak once it starts, experts said. “The information is one of many factors to consider when making a plan as to how to stop the spread of measles,” said Iva Burks, health and human services director of Clallam County, where a case of measles in a 5-year-old has led to the quarantine of unvaccinated students at Olympic Christian School in Port Angeles. The school enrolled 115 students in the 2013-2014 school year and reported an exemption rate of nearly 16 percent, which would mean at least 18 students would be targeted for quarantine. As of Tuesday, there were no new measles cases reported and Dr. Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties, said he couldn’t confirm how many students were prohibited from school and public contact until Feb. 27. Locke said people who were exposed in the wider community could develop symptoms until March 4 — and he added that he expected more cases. “We’re bracing for it,” he said. Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles erected a tent to isolate and screen patients with measles symptoms so that they don’t risk infecting vulnerable people in the hospital waiting rooms. The 5-year-old, a kindergartner, contracted the fifth case of measles in Washington state this year. Nationwide, 141 people in 17 states and Washington, D.C., have become infected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Most of those cases are related to an outbreak sparked by an unvaccinated traveler at the Disneyland theme park in Southern California. In addition, lawmakers in Olympia held a hearing Tuesday on a bill that would eliminate the state’s personal-belief exemption for vaccinations. If it passes, only medical and religious exemptions to immunization requirements will be allowed. Trouble reporting data It’s not clear exactly why the schools’ vaccine exemption data are missing. Officials with at least a dozen private and public schools contacted by The Seattle Times said they provided — or tried to provide — the figures in accordance with state law. A few said their efforts were thwarted by glitches in an online tool that made it difficult to comply. “I had the hardest time doing it online,” said Debbie Montgomery, office manager for Spring Valley Montessori School in Federal Way. “We went back and forth about it.” She had the numbers — only one out of 75 students at the school was not fully vaccinated. “For us it’s always been pretty low.” That’s the same story at the Everett Christian School in Snohomish County, where registrar Judi Triezenberg said just four of the school’s 73 students had claimed exemptions. Officials with public schools in the Tahoma School District in Maple Valley and the Snohomish School District said they had no idea why their figures weren’t included on the state log. “We were greatly surprised,” said Kevin Patterson, the Tahoma district’s director of communication. The problem could be that some schools missed the deadline for reporting and so weren’t included, even though they provided data later, said Paul Throne, a manager for health communication at the state Department of Health. “If any school feels our reported data does not reflect their reporting status correctly, we are happy to talk with them and find out what happened,” he said. Overall, state health officials said they’re pleased that so few schools have shown up on the missing list. Although reporting is required by law, there’s no enforcement — and no penalty — if schools fail to comply. Katie Wolt, a health educator in the state immunization office, said department nurses have worked hard for years to help schools and districts submit the information on time. In 2011-2012, the state data said more than 900 schools failed to report. “We’re really happy with the increase we’ve seen,” she said. “But our goal is 100 percent reporting.” New attention likely will improve the process on both ends, said Libby Page, immunization assessment and promotion manager with Public Health – Seattle & King County. Her office sent reminders to area schools last fall offering help getting their data in on time. “We’ve definitely seen a lot of interest from parents,” she said, noting that many have logged onto aKing County exemption map and one compiled by The Seattle Times. “They’re sort of noticing, ‘The coverage rate at my school is really low. What can we do about that?’ ” Source: Vaccination-exemption data missing for 300 state schools