New bill could make school vaccination rates more accessible

Texas House Bill 2249, introduced by Republican Rep. J.D. Sheffield of Gatesville, would require schools to report the number of vaccination exemptions to the state.

Right now, that information is only available by district. The bill would only require schools to report the number of kids with exemptions, not their names.

Some parents believe it's their right to know exactly how many kids are not getting those vaccinations.

"As a parent, my concern is that my child is in a safe environment, a healthy environment. So if they go to school with a high percentage of non-vaccinated kids, the risk of them contracting an infectious disease is higher," said Cherise Rohr-Allegrini with the Immunization Partnership.

Parents who believe that vaccinations should be a choice fear that the bill would make their children a target of bullying.

Texans for Vaccine Choice said in a statement:

"House Bill 2249...unjustly targets children utilizing vaccine exemptions by focusing only on the number of students utilizing the exemption while ignoring several other campus level health factors. This creates an incomplete and unclear picture of the actual health of a campus. It is our position that each and every child in Texas deserves to attend school with full and complete medical privacy, ensuring schools remain safe and free from bullying and harassment based on immunization status."

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, in the 2015-2016 school year, more than 44,000 kids in Texas had a conscientious exemption from getting vaccinated. That's up from around 2,000 kids back in 2003.

Below is a list of schools and school districts in Bexar County, how many children are not vaccinated, and what percentage of the student population that number represents.