Florida moves to end school vaccine mandate
News | By Easton Martin | September 3, 2025
Florida is moving to eliminate all vaccine mandates, a decision that would make it the first state in the nation to do so. The announcement came from Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo alongside Governor Ron DeSantis. Ladapo described vaccine requirements as an assault on personal freedom and parental rights, arguing that no government has authority over what goes into a child’s body.
The plan includes ending mandates for school entry, which currently require vaccinations against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, chickenpox, hepatitis B, and other diseases. Florida law currently allows for religious and medical exemptions, but this change would go further by erasing requirements altogether. The Department of Health has authority to remove mandates not written into statute, while mandates embedded in state law will require legislative action in the upcoming session.
DeSantis also introduced a new initiative called Make America Healthy Again, intended to promote parental choice and oppose what his administration views as government overreach. Ladapo emphasized that the goal is to restore decision-making power to families and protect individual autonomy in health care.
