Overview
- Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a July 31 letter to the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops saying schools must grant religious exemptions to vaccine rules under Florida Statute 1003.22(3) or risk losing eligibility for major state scholarship programs.
- Uthmeier says his office acted after receiving hundreds to thousands of complaints from Catholic families who object to some vaccines on religious grounds and that dioceses citing a National Catholic Bioethics Center position appear to deny exemptions.
- The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops is reviewing the letter and has until Aug. 7 to reply, and for now the AG’s statement is a formal warning rather than an implemented funding cutoff.
- Legal scholars contend the AG’s threat risks violating the First Amendment by intruding on church governance, while state politicians and public-health groups have offered contrasting views on mandates and parental rights.
- The dispute carries heavy financial stakes because most Florida Catholic students use state scholarships, so a loss of access would directly affect tuition for thousands of families and could trigger litigation or policy fights over religious school autonomy.