Peel Public Health warned parents last year that students could be suspended from school over missing vaccination records. It wasn’t an empty threat.

A total of 8,875 students were suspended in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon during Peel’s 2025-26 immunization enforcement cycle, according to new figures provided by the region as thousands of students once again face scrutiny over their vaccination records.

The number is significant because Peel Public Health is now warning that approximately 27,500 students will have their immunization records reviewed during the 2026-27 school year.

The region says students with incomplete records could again face suspension if their information isn’t brought up to date or a valid exemption isn’t provided.

The new figure comes months after Peel Public Health warned that 15,861 students were potentially facing suspension during the previous school year.

At the time, the warning applied to students whose immunization records did not meet provincial requirements. Peel has now confirmed that 8,875 students were ultimately suspended during the full 2025-26 enforcement cycle.

Peel says the 15,861 figure reported in March was a snapshot and changed from week to week as families submitted vaccination information.

But the new number does establish something parents should take seriously: Peel does enforce the suspension provision.

For the upcoming school year, the region is again starting with reminders and opportunities for families to update records rather than immediately removing students from class.

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Beginning in October, Peel Public Health plans to send two separate notification letters to families of students with incomplete records, giving them time to provide missing information, obtain vaccinations or submit a valid exemption.

Suspensions are expected to begin in spring 2027 for students who still have not met the requirements by the deadline on their suspension order.

This year’s screening will focus on students from senior kindergarten through Grade 3, as well as students in Grades 11 and 12, across Peel’s four public school boards. The enforcement process will take place in cohorts throughout the school year.

The requirements aren’t simply about paperwork.

Under Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act, students attending elementary and secondary school must be vaccinated against a number of designated diseases or have a valid exemption.

Required vaccinations include those protecting against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, meningococcal disease and, for children born in 2010 or later, chickenpox.

Peel Medical Officer of Health Dr. Alexa Caturay said keeping vaccination records current helps protect students and the broader community from serious illnesses.

When more students are protected, diseases such as measles have fewer opportunities to spread through schools and into the wider community. That is particularly important for people who may be more vulnerable to serious illness.

There is also a potentially important distinction behind Peel’s numbers.

The region says some students identified through the screening process have already received the required vaccines but their parents or guardians have not reported the doses to public health.

Doctors do not report children’s vaccinations directly to Peel Public Health. Parents or legal guardians are responsible for submitting the records.

That means a student can be fully vaccinated and still be flagged because Peel does not have the documentation.

Parents can submit vaccination information through Peel Public Health’s online reporting system or obtain missing vaccines through their primary-care provider or a Peel community clinic.

Peel says families should not wait until a suspension deadline because submitted records can take several business days to process.

With approximately 27,500 students now entering this year’s screening process, Peel is giving families several months to make sure their children don’t become part of that number.


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