More than 15,000 students in Peel Region could be suspended from school because of their vaccination status, according to Peel Public Health.
In a news release Thursday, Peel Public Health urged families to ensure their children are vaccinated and report vaccinations to the public health unit as quickly as possible to avoid suspension.
Under provincial legislation, routine childhood vaccines or a valid exemption is required to attend school. As of the week of March 9, a total of 15,861 students are slated for potential suspension, the public health unit says.
Dr. Hetal Patel, associate medical officer of health for Peel Public Health, said Thursday the exact number of students on the list varies from week to week but it is expected to drop as updated information is received from families.
Patel said the potential suspension numbers are higher than in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During this time, a lot of students fell behind on getting their routine immunizations as well as reporting those immunizations,” Patel said.
Vaccines required for school include those that protect against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, varicella, and meningococcal disease.  (Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press)’There should be another way of communicating this’
At least one parent said she was not aware that she had to report vaccination records to the public health unit. Peel Public Health says it is responsibility of families, not doctors, to report vaccinations.
Amanda Koppaithara, a parent of two boys in Mississauga, said she received a suspension notice for her younger son even though he has all of the required vaccinations for his age.
“I went to drop something off at my kids’ school and I was informed: ‘Hey, I think your son may be on the list for suspension,'” Koppaithara said.
Koppaithara said she is in the processing of obtaining his records and will submit the information online.
Peel Public Health says it issued two separate notification letters, a few months apart, with instructions to families on how to catch up on missing vaccines or to report doses before suspension orders are issued.
Koppaithara, however, said she never received the notification letters.
She says she would like more information about vaccinations required by each age group. A “big pink letter,” telling parents where to go to report vaccines online, should be sent home, she added.
“There should be another way of communicating this,” she said.
‘Reporting system is messed up’
Charu Goyal, a parent of a boy in Brampton, said the number of students to be suspended is surprising.
“There should be a way where they can actually get reported automatically to the health-care system,” Goyal said.
“Nobody has the time,” she said.
Peel Public Health says during the 2024-2025 school year, 2,227 public school students were suspended. By the end of the suspension period, 2,134 students were caught up on their vaccination records. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
On March 3, Toronto Public Health (TPH) said it would pause suspensions for the remainder of the 2025-26 school year to give families time to get the required vaccines or their children’s records.
TPH said it assessed students in grades two to five who attend Toronto public schools and more than 50,000 student records were not up to date at the start of the school year. Many students have been caught up, but there are still about 30,000 students outstanding, TPH said.
Suspensions to begin March 31
In Peel Region, the first wave of suspensions is slated to begin March 31, Patel said. If the vaccination records are not updated, students could get suspended for up to 20 days, according to the Immunization of School Pupils Act.
“Once they do contact public health or they update their immunization records, that suspension can be rescinded as soon as their record is processed,” Patel said. “In the majority of cases, most students are not being suspended for up to 20 days.”
Peel Public Health said it is holding vaccination clinics for secondary students in schools and families can book appointments for clinics during March Break.
In the 2024-2025 school year, 2,227 public school students were suspended. By the end of the suspension period, 2,134 students were caught up on their vaccination records.
 Vaccines required for school include those that protect against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, varicella, and meningococcal disease.