In compliance with a new state law schools across the state have suspended hundreds of sixth graders with outdated vaccination shots. A law passed by the General Assembly in January requires children to have one booster dose of tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis, also called Tdap, if five years have elapsed since their last one. The rules apply to about 210,000 students in the state and parents were given 30 days from the start of school to bring the vaccinations up to date for the child and warned that their child could be suspended if immunizations weren’t current.

State Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Amy Caruso said the booster shot recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after North Carolina saw an increase in pertussis, or whooping cough and the requirement took effect for the 2008-09 school year.

The deadlines in most districts came this week and schools began suspending students Wednesday. Sixth-graders who didn't have the booster vaccination were suspended from school starting Thursday in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and about 117 of the 3,800 sixth-graders have been suspended.

Theo Helm, a spokesman for the school system said "Most middle schools had at least one or two students sent home. Some middle schools had 10, others five or six. It real¬ly has been pretty evenly spread throughout the middle schools."

Parents must provide proof that their children have been vaccinated for the children to be able to return to school. Helm said the shots were given free at the county health department, and about 1,100 students hadn't gotten the shot as of a week ago. "We rarely get a 100 percent return rate on things we send home," he said. "We sent out forms in May about the need for the shot. It's human nature for some people to put things off until they're facing a deadline."

Guilford County Schools has about 5,400 sixth-graders are in the county's public schools system and 400 of them still needed to submit proof of their vaccination yesterday afternoon while more than 1,000 students needed updated records said Jennifer Landes, a spokeswoman for the Guilford County Schools.

Marshall Gasperson, the director of student services for Watauga County Schools said that all of the county's sixth-graders have complied with the booster shot. "Last spring, we teamed up with the health department and brought (health workers) into our schools." Buncombe County Schools have extended their deadline because of the gas shortage in the western part of the state, while Ashe County school officials said 300 students in the county’s three elementary schools have all had the required vaccination.

About 1,200 Charlotte-Mecklenburg County middle school students hadn't updated their records by Thursday. "If our parents brought in proof of an appointment or updated records, their children were allowed to stay in school," said spokeswoman Cynthia Robbins.