Students, teachers get ready for school

TRI-COUNTY AREA--Sports practices are already underway for the 2019 fall season and school will begin at area districts next week. This year there are a variety of starting dates.
Dundee Central School District will begin classes, Tuesday, Sept. 3. This includes the elementary school and junior-senior high school.
Penn Yan Central School District will start the next day, Wednesday, Sept. 4 for Penn Yan Academy, Penn Yan middle school and Penn Yan elementary school.
Hammondsport's Glenn H. Curtiss elementary school and junior-senior high school get underway on Thursday, Sept. 5.
In Schuyler County, Watkins Glen elementary and high schools begin Wednesday, Sept. 4.
Odessa-Montour, including B.C. Cate elementary school, Howard Hanlon elementary school and the junior-senior high school start Thursday, Sept. 5.
Over the summer both the governor and the department of health changed certain requirements for school vaccinations.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation removing non-medical exemptions from school vaccine requirements for children. Under the new law, children who were not previously vaccinated will have 14 days from the first day of school to receive the first age appropriate dose in each immunization series, and 30 days from the first day of school to schedule follow-up appointments.
The department of health followed up on Aug. 16 saying, "Effective immediately, physicians who issue medical exemptions will be required to complete the applicable medical exemption form approved by the New York State Department of Health or New York City Department of Education, which specifically outlines the medical reason(s) that prevent a child from being vaccinated."
Recent outbreaks of measles in New York have highlighted areas of low vaccination rates, according to the state.