Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has urged Catholic schools across the state to recognise religious exemptions from mandatory vaccinations, warning that failure to do so could put their access to state-funded education voucher programmes at risk.
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In a letter sent to the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops on Friday, Uthmeier argued that Catholic doctrine does not prevent schools from accepting religious vaccine exemptions. He said schools receiving public scholarship funds should comply with Florida's exemption laws.
"I therefore urge Catholic schools to comply with Florida law and grant religious exemptions to school vaccine policies. Failure to comply could jeopardise eligibility for state educational scholarship programs," Uthmeier wrote in the letter addressed to the conference's executive director, Michael Sheedy.
The letter was issued days before most Florida school districts are due to begin the 2026-27 academic year. The attorney general asked the conference to respond by August 7
