![\"Florida](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/MIA_05UTHEMEIERINMIAMI201.JPG\" "\\"Florida")
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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, right, speaks alongside federal and state law enforcement officials during a press conference at the FDLE Miami Regional Operations Center announcing a new unit focused on investigating public corruption and government spending.on Thursday, February 19, 2026, in Miami, Florida.<\/p>\n
Carl Juste<\/p>\n
cjuste@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is telling Catholic schools to allow students to opt out of mandated vaccine requirements on religious grounds, or they may lose state voucher funding.<\/p>\n
In a letter to the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, Uthmeier said<\/a> he recently became aware that at least one Catholic school system in Florida refused to grant religious exemptions to student vaccination requirements for the upcoming school year \u2014 a decision Uthmeier argued is against Florida law.<\/p>\n Despite the state\u2019s recent efforts to eliminate Florida\u2019s vaccine requirements<\/a>, Florida law has long required students attending public or private schools to be vaccinated against diseases like polio, measles and chickenpox<\/a>. However, children can bypass those requirements for religious or health-based reasons.<\/p>\n Florida Catholic schools typically do not exempt students from vaccines for religious reasons because the Florida Bishops do not believe that the use of vaccines, even those developed using the cells of aborted fetuses, are \u201cintrinsically evil.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere is nothing in Catholic moral teachings which would hold that the use of vaccines is immoral and sinful,\u201d according to policies from the Catholic Diocese of Pensacola Tallahassee<\/a> cited in Uthmeier\u2019s letter. Catholic schools do, however, accept medical exemptions from vaccines with a valid doctor\u2019s note.<\/p>\n Uthmeier wants this policy to change, and has cited his own Catholic beliefs as part of his reasoning.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a Catholic, I am confident that the teachings of the Catholic Church do not require Catholic schools to compel students to take vaccines derived from the tissue of aborted children against the sincerely-held religious objections of their parents,\u201d Uthmeier wrote.<\/p>\n On Friday, Uthmeier said in a post on X.com<\/a> that Catholic schools not offering religious exemptions to vaccine mandates, \u201cmay disqualify them from state scholarships and vouchers,\u201d and demanded an answer to the letter by Aug. 7.<\/p>\n Today, I sent a letter to the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops regarding their schools\u2019 vaccine mandates.<\/p>\n Ironically, they won\u2019t offer religious exemptions as prescribed by state law.<\/p>\n This is troubling and may disqualify them from state scholarships and vouchers. pic.twitter.com\/W595FEuvPu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) July 31, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops said they are working on a response to the attorney general but clarified the schools are complying with Florida law.<\/p>\n \u201cBe assured, Florida\u2019s Catholic schools are operating in accord with the law and Church teaching,\u201d said the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops.<\/p>\n Uthmeier pointed to quotes from Pope Leo XIV on human dignity and \u201cinalienable\u201d rights and emphasized the Church\u2019s teachings on the role of parents as primary educators for their children. Uthmeier stressed that the state of Florida is aiming to protect a parent\u2019s ability to exempt their child from mandated vaccine requirements and that the Catholic Church is placing \u201can undue burden on parents\u201d that would deny them their \u201cfundamental right to choose a school that corresponds to their own convictions.\u201d<\/p>\n The state\u2019s expanded use of the voucher system has led to a boom in voucher use in Catholic schools, contributing to a boost in enrollment<\/a> in private schools across the state.<\/p>\n Over 95% of students enrolled in Miami Catholic schools are on some kind of state scholarship, with most receiving around $6,500 in vouchers to put forth toward tuition, according to the Archdiocese of Miami.<\/p>\n