Florida pushes broader vaccine exemptions, Catholic bishops resist state pressure
Florida officials are urging Catholic schools to accept expanded religious vaccine exemptions, while the bishops argue the state is overstepping religious freedom.
In July, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter to Catholic schools urging them to accept expanded religious vaccine exemptions, warning that non-compliance could jeopardize eligibility for the publicly funded School Choice program. The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, represented by executive director Michael Sheedy, rejected the request, stating that vaccines do not conflict with Catholic doctrine and that government dictates on religious matters would violate the Church’s First Amendment rights.
This confrontation follows a broader federal push, championed by President Donald Trump and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, to increase parental control over school vaccination requirements, including proposals to drop mandates for several diseases and to broaden exemptions to moral and ethical beliefs. CDC data show that the share of kindergarteners exempt from at least one vaccine has climbed from 2.2% in 2020-21 to a record 4.2% in 2025-26.
Legal scholars cite the 2017 Flynn v. Estevez case, where a Florida appeals court upheld a Catholic school’s right to set its own vaccination policy, as a potential precedent. The debate highlights a larger question of who determines the validity of religious objections—the individual parent or the religious institution.
Why it matters
The dispute could reshape how religious exemptions to school vaccines are handled, affecting public health and church-state relations.
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