Prince George’s County (Map, News) - More than 2,300 Prince George's County Public School students have failed to meet state vaccination requirements two weeks after Maryland schools were to start barring students who lacked the inoculations.

As of Friday, 2,365 students had failed to either show proof of vaccinations or of an appointment to get them. Students with proof of an appointment are allowed to attend school. The deadline to be in compliance was Sept. 20.

“It's hard to understand how any family would not complete this simple process because otherwise they are depriving their children of an education,” schools spokesman John White said Monday.

About 300 students have gotten the vaccinations since Sept. 25. The school system has said most students who aren't in compliance have failed to meet new hepatitis B and chicken pox requirements.

White said the school system has been transporting students, with parental permission, to special immunization clinics. Schools spokeswoman Tanzi West said letters were sent home more than once to parents of out-of-compliance children.

“We continue to offer those opportunities and continue to work with the health department to see what other [strategies] we can come up with,” White said. “The only thing we haven't done and cannot do is provide parental consent.”

Recent state policy requires all students in kindergarten through grade 10 to show proof of hepatitis B and chicken pox vaccinations. Prior to January 2007, only students through grade four needed proof of immunization.

More than 5,000 Prince George's students were barred from school for failing to meet the new criteria at one point last school year.

“No parent of a child who has been vaccinated would want us to risk the health of their child,” White said.

dfowler@dcexaminer.com