Florida’s push to strip away school vaccine requirements is moving forward, but the new rules won’t kick in until early December — and for now, they only apply to a handful of diseases. Florida will be the first and only state in the United States to get rid of the vaccine mandates for public school.
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According to the Florida Department of Health, the change will lift mandates for hepatitis B, chickenpox, Hib influenza, and pneumococcal infections such as meningitis. Vaccines for polio, measles, mumps, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis remain required under state law unless lawmakers expand the rollback when they return to Tallahassee in 2026.
A Major Policy Shift
The move marks a sharp departure from decades of public health policy in the U.S., where school vaccination mandates have been credited with nearly wiping out deadly childhood illnesses. Florida’s Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, defended the change on CNN Sunday, framing it as an issue of parental choice.
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“If you want them, God bless, you can have as many as you want,” Ladapo said. “And if you don’t want them, parents should have the ability and the power to decide what goes into their children’s bodies. It’s that simple”.
Just two years ago however, during his confirmation hearing, Dr. Ladapo supported the mandated vaccines.
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Political Divide
Florida Senator General Ashley Moody has publicly backed the rollback, calling it a matter of parental rights and personal freedom in what she described as the “Free State of Florida.”
But her stance contrasts with former Governor and current U.S. Senator Rick Scott, who has pointed out that Florida already has an opt-out system in place. Under current law, parents who oppose vaccines can claim exemptions, meaning the mandates were never absolute. Scott has questioned the need to dismantle long-standing protections entirely when those exemptions already exist.
He stated, “Florida already has a good system that allows families to opt out based on religious and personal beliefs, which balances our children’s health and parents’ rights.”
Gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds at first signaled support for eliminating school vaccine mandates but has since tempered that stance after President Trump pushed back. “Do I think they’re going to end all vaccine mandates? No, I don’t. Because a lot of that stuff has to go through the legislature. We’ll see what happens,” Donalds told Fox Business host Stuart Varney.
That reversal leaves Senator Ashley Moody in a difficult spot. She has already endorsed the rollback, putting her at odds with Trump’s position. The tension is particularly notable given Moody’s political ties: she was appointed to her Senate seat by Governor Ron DeSantis, yet she also enjoys Trump’s backing for her upcoming election. How she navigates this emerging rift could prove pivotal in the race.
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Based on the most recent available data, approximately 10,556 non-medical exemptions for school vaccines were recorded in Florida for the 2024-25 school year, according to estimates from the CDC. This number reflects a significant increase, more than doubling from the 1.8% exemption rate in 2014-15 to 4.8% in 2024-25, making Florida the leader in the Southeast for such opt-outs. The Brevard Public Schools District nor the School Board has yet to issue any public comments on the issue leaving parents in the dark.
Concerns from Pediatricians
Medical experts strongly disagree with the state’s direction. Dr. Rana Alissa, head of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, warned that making vaccines voluntary puts both students and school staff at risk.
The CDC reports this year is already the worst measles outbreak in more than three decades, with over 1,400 confirmed cases nationwide — most in Texas — and three deaths. Whooping cough is also surging, with more than 19,000 cases reported so far in 2025, killing at least two infants in Louisiana and a 5-year-old in WashingtonFlorida’s plan to drop school v….
The Timeline
The Department of Health said it initiated the rule change on September 3. By law, it takes roughly 90 days before the changes can take effect, placing implementation in December — months after the current school year beganFlorida’s plan to drop school v….
Florida already offers a religious exemption for required vaccines, but this new move goes further, turning several key vaccinations into an optional choice for families.
The Bigger Picture
Globally, vaccines have been credited with saving at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years, according to a 2024 World Health Organization report — the vast majority infants and children. Critics argue that dismantling mandates now, as preventable diseases are resurging, risks undoing decades of progress.
