🚨 NJ Department of Health’s 300+ Page Code Change Proposal
What’s at Stake + How to Take Action Today!
The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) has released a 300+ page proposal to change N.J.A.C. 8:57 (health codes, communicable disease & immunization rules). This sweeping overhaul is posted in the NJ Register and open for public comment.
Here’s what you need to know — and how you can make your voice heard.
⚠️ Why This Matters
Buried inside this massive rule change are provisions that could reshape parental rights, health privacy, health transparency and educational access in New Jersey.
Key Concerns at a Glance
Religious freedom at risk? The proposal appears to codify private schools (preschool–college) the authority to deny religious exemptions and mandate additional vaccines not required by the state.
“ACIP alignment”: By automatically adopting federal recommendations as state requirements, NJ could dramatically expand the number of vaccines required for school entry.
New Jersey Immunization Information System (NJIIS) expansion without real consent: Automatic enrollment of residents (children and adults alike) into the vaccine registry with limited/unclear opt-out and broad data sharing.
Permanent OPRA (Open Public Records Act) secrecy: Vaccination, testing, quarantine & outbreak records permanently exempt from public records = less transparency, weaker accountability.
Expanded reporting & penalties: School and childcare personnel with no medical training would be required to collect, review, and transmit student health information under threat of fines or disciplinary action.
NJ Department of Health Commissioner’s sweeping discretion: Broad, centralized powers over data collection/sharing and student exclusion, with few checks and balances. Would we have had access to the nursing home information if these codes were in place during COVID?
📝 How to Take Action
You don’t have to read all 300+ pages to speak up. Four quick steps make a big difference:
1️⃣ Message Your Legislators
Use the Stand for Health Freedom Call to Action to send a pre-written, editable message urging lawmakers to push back on these provisions, demand transparency, protect educational access & religious freedom.
2️⃣ Submit a Public Comment to NJ Department of Health
Take a minute to personalize a few of the points above👉Click here!
3️⃣Share this post to spread awareness, most parents have no idea this change is being proposed.
4️⃣Stay tuned for information about a Public Hearing on these code changes, to have your voice heard!
🔗 Spread the Word
Forward this article, post the Stand for Health Freedom link on your socials, and invite three friends to act today. Every comment and legislator message counts.
Also, read & share our fellow advocate, Ann Rosen’s blog post on Epistemic Capture: Do NJDOH rules make our Health Commissioner the arbiter of truth? Let’s educate our peers about what is being proposed by the NJDOH!
✍️ Final Thoughts
Transparency, informed consent, and parental rights are core principles of public health and democracy. The NJDOH proposed code changes threaten to erode these protections quietly through administrative code changes.
We have a window, from September 15 through November 14th to stand up for transparency and fairness. Please make your voice heard and encourage your neighbors to do the same.