Florida’s Push to End School Vaccine Requirements—and Why Pediatricians and Parents Oppose It
Hi Community,
There’s a lot happening this week, but one breaking story deserves urgent attention. Florida lawmakers have announced plans to end all school and childcare vaccine requirements—a radical step that would dismantle decades of protections.
At first glance, it may sound like a debate about “freedom” or “parental choice.” In practice, though, it would roll back one of U.S. history's most successful public health safeguards. Without these protections, diseases like measles, polio, and whooping cough could return to classrooms and daycare centers. These are not hypothetical risks: they are illnesses that once caused widespread disability and death in children before vaccines and have the potential to return.
School entry vaccine requirements are among the most effective public health policies ever enacted. They don’t just protect individual children but create safe learning environments where families can trust that classrooms won’t become epicenters of preventable disease.
Ending these requirements doesn’t expand freedom. It takes away families’ freedom to send their children to safe, healthy schools.
A 170-Year Legacy of Protection
The first school vaccine requirement in the United States was enacted in Massachusetts in 1855, when the state passed a law requiring smallpox vaccination for children attending public school.
1855: Massachusetts passed the world’s first statewide school vaccine law, requiring smallpox vaccination for public school attendance.
Early 20th century: Other states followed, especially during smallpox outbreaks, though enforcement varied.
Mid-20th century: Requirements expanded beyond smallpox to cover diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, and measles as new vaccines became available.
Current times: Today, every state requires certain vaccinations (like MMR, polio, and DTaP) for school and childcare attendance, with only limited exemptions allowed. School entry laws are set at the state level, not federally, which means each state decides which vaccines to require, how exemptions are handled, and how rigorously the rules are enforced.
For nearly 170 years, school vaccine requirements have been a cornerstone of protecting children and communities.
What Pediatricians Think
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently reaffirmed its strong support for school and childcare vaccine requirements, underscoring their role as one of the most effective tools for protecting children and communities. In a revised policy statement, the AAP emphasized that school entry laws are not just about individual protection but about maintaining safe, equitable learning environments where all children can thrive.
The Academy urged states to strengthen immunization policies, ensure timely and equitable access to vaccines, and provide transparent data so families understand the level of protection in their schools.
The message from pediatricians is clear: vaccine requirements remain a cornerstone of child health and public trust, and pediatricians see them as essential to keeping classrooms safe and open.
What Parents and the Public Really Think
Florida leaders are framing this as what “the people want.” The evidence says otherwise. Parents and the public overwhelmingly support school vaccine requirements.
Here’s what five major national surveys from the past two years show:
Kaiser Family Foundation (Jan 2025):
83% of U.S. adults support public school vaccine requirements (with health/religious exceptions), including 76% of parents. Support crosses party lines, with 75% of Republicans, 85% of independents, and 93% of Democrats in favor.
Texas A&M National Study (Nov 2023):
Among more than 16,000 respondents, 90% supported K–12 requirements for core vaccines like DTaP, MMR, polio, and chickenpox. Support dropped for HPV (75%) and COVID-19 (68%), but the takeaway is clear: Americans broadly back traditional school vaccine requirements.
CDC SchoolVaxView Survey (2024):
76.6% of parents support school and childcare vaccine requirements. Only 8.3% said such requirements aren’t important, while a third believed unvaccinated children should still be allowed to attend—underscoring that while exemptions matter to some, broad support for the policy remains.
Harvard/de Beaumont Poll (June 2025):
79% of Americans—and 72% of parents—support routine childhood vaccine requirements. Reasons cited included vaccine effectiveness (90%), the responsibility to keep schools safe (87%), and protecting medically vulnerable children (81%).
Annenberg Public Policy Center (Jan 2025):
73% of adults support MMR requirements for school entry, with support from 86% of Democrats, 72% of independents, and 62% of Republicans. Even amid political divides, a strong majority supports core vaccines.
The pattern is clear: an overwhelming majority of Americans—across political affiliations—support common-sense school vaccine requirements. The idea that these protections are unpopular doesn’t hold up.
Note: Be careful not to conflate COVID-19 vaccine “mandates” with requirements for routine school vaccines—no school in Florida requires COVID-19 vaccination.
The False “Freedom” Argument
Florida leaders argue that ending school vaccine requirements expands freedom. But whose freedom is being expanded?
Not the freedom of children who are too young or medically fragile to be vaccinated—who will now be forced into classrooms with a higher risk of exposure.
Not the freedom of parents who want to trust that schools are safe environments for learning, not hotbeds of preventable disease—even if, as every parent knows, classrooms are already hotspots for every cold and stomach bug out there.
And not the freedom of teachers, staff, and communities facing the ripple effects of outbreaks.
Instead, the policy prioritizes a narrow ideology at the expense of the broader community’s health and safety. True freedom means sending your child to school without fearing illnesses that we have been able to prevent for decades.
The Takeaway
School vaccine requirements have protected children for nearly two centuries. They reflect the consensus of medical experts and the values of most parents and communities. Florida’s attempt to end them would jeopardize community health and strip away families’ right to expect safe schools.
History and data remind us that these protections are popular, effective, and essential. Rolling them back would put children at risk and undermine one of our greatest public health achievements.
Thanks, as always, for being part of this community.
-David
Do you like this newsletter?
Then you should subscribe here for FREE to never miss an update and share this with others:
You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Substack Notes, and Bluesky.
Community Immunity is a newsletter dedicated to vaccines, policy, and public health, offering clear science and meaningful conversations for health professionals, science communicators, policymakers, and anyone who wants to stay informed. This newsletter is free for everyone, and I want it to be a conversation, not just a broadcast. And if you find this valuable, please help spread the word!