The Illinois General Assembly is considering two bills to boost vaccinations among students in the state, according to the Chicago Tribune.
In Illinois, students must show proof of a complete vaccination record before being allowed to attend school.
One bill, introduced in the state Senate last week, would prohibit parents from using religion as a reason not to vaccinate their child. It would also limit medical issues that could be used to opt out of vaccinations and would allow students 14 years and older to get vaccinated without parental consent.
Illinois tightened regulations on claiming religious exemptions from vaccines in 2016, requiring healthcare providers to verify that they had educated parents on vaccinations before allowing them to opt out of vaccinating their kids on religious grounds.
If the law is passed, it would make Illinois the sixth state in the country to remove religious exemptions for vaccinations among students.
Another bill, introduced in the Illinois house, would add the HPV vaccine to the roster of vaccinations required for school entry. It would require students entering sixth grade to get the first dose of the vaccine and to complete the series of doses (two to three) by the end of high school.
Democrats control both houses of the Illinois legislature and the governorship. Both pieces of legislation were introduced by Democrats.