Rochester, N.Y. — The new school year is just three weeks away, but some schools are finding they will have fewer students.

A state law that eliminates a religious exemption to vaccine mandates for schoolchildren has led some parents to choose different options for their kids' education.

The legislation was signed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in June when there was an outbreak of measles.

Locally, religious exemptions to vaccines aren't rare. Monroe County has seen a nearly 50 percent increase in students with religious exemptions in a five-year period. At last count in the 2017-18 school year, more than 800 students in public schools had a religious exemption on file.

Private schools are also being impacted. Administrators at Cornerstone Christian Academy in Brockport report they are losing 20 percent of its student body because of the law.

"I'm sure there are some that have chosen to do the vaccinations, but from the students from our school and other schools in the Rochester area that I've talked to, the vast majority of those who were unimmunized will remain unimmunized," said Chris Johnson, the principal of Cornerstone Christian Academy. "They're going to homeschooling or some STAR program at local colleges."

He doesn't believe the law will encourage parents to get their children vaccinated, like those in the medical community hope.

"They will interact with all the same kids through church groups, through sports programs, through other kinds of interactions, so, really, the only thing it's accomplished is harming the private schools in the area or across the state," he said.

Dr. Melanie Conolly, Spencerport Family Medicine's medical director, hopes the law does cause more kids to become vaccinated. She said kids generally receive several vaccinations between birth and age 5, but the schedule can be altered for those who miss that window.

"That is something that the [Centers for Disease Control] has recommended," Conolly said. "There is a protocol that we go by that tells us how far apart the vaccines need to be in order to be effective and safe."

The more that children are vaccinated, Conolly said, the more protection there will be for those who can't be get the shots because of a medical reason.

Kelly McGillin went to great lengths to keep her daughter, Delaney, healthy when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer at two-weeks old and couldn't get any vaccines for more than a year.

"I always made sure the carts were wiped down. I always kept her in a car seat and away from touching anything publicly at all, and I have older children and when they would come home from school, their clothes would come off, they would shower, make sure they washed their hands thoroughly before being around her," McGillin said.

Delaney, now 6, is in remission and fully vaccinated.

"It gives me a piece of mind to know that she's vaccinated," her mom said.

Johnson said he doesn't believe the law will encourage parents to get their children vaccinated, like those in the medical community hope.

"They will interact with all the same kids through church groups, through sports programs, through other kinds of interactions, so, really, the only thing it's accomplished is harming the private schools in the area or across the state," he said.