8:57-4.4  Religious exemptions
(a) A child shall be exempted from mandatory immunization if the parent or guardian objects thereto in a written statement submitted to the school, preschool, or child care center, signed by the parent or guardian, explaining how the administration of immunizing agents conflicts with the pupil’s exercise of bona fide religious tenets or practices. General philosophical or moral objection to immunization shall not be sufficient for an exemption on religious grounds.
(b) Religious affiliated schools or child care centers shall have the authority to withhold or grant a religious exemption from the required immunizations for pupils entering or attending their institutions without challenge from any secular health authority.
(c) This statement will be kept by the school, preschool, or child care center as part of the child’s immunization record.
(d) Those children with religious exemptions from receiving immunizing agents may be excluded from the school, preschool, or child care center during a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak or threatened outbreak as determined by the Commissioner, Department of Health and Senior Services or his or her designee.
(e) As provided by N.J.S.A. 26:4-6, "Any body having control of a school may, on account of the prevalence of any communicable disease, or to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, prohibit the attendance of any teacher or pupil of any school under their control and specify the time during which the teacher or scholar shall remain away from school." The Department of Health and Senior Services shall provide guidance to the school on the appropriateness of any such prohibition. All schools are required to comply with the provisions of N.J.A.C. 8:61:1.1 regarding attendance at school by pupils or adults infected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).