Florida Education Association says:  We wanted to provide you a couple of updates on Florida’s continued attempts to reduce childhood vaccination rates.

The DOH will be holding a workshop to further discuss their proposed changes to these requirements on October 8, 2026, 9:00 a.m. to noon (ET) or until the conclusion of the hearing, whichever occurs first.

The meeting will take place at Orlando Marriott Lake Mary, Grand Ballroom E, F, G, H, 1501 International Parkway, Lake Mary, Florida 32746-4708.

Both the time and location place a significant barrier on public input, but the meeting will be recorded and made available on the Florida Channel.

As you might recall, the Department of Health (DOH) released a draft rule this summer that would remove the following vaccines from the list of those required for schoolchildren:

Varicella (chickenpox)

Hepatitis B;

Haemophilus influenzae type b, and

Pneumococcal conjugate

At the same time, the DOH revised the form parents can use to opt their child out of vaccines to significantly expand the opt-out provisions. The DOH does not actually have the legal authority to make such a change. In some good news, the Florida Legislative Joint Administrative Procedures Committee informed the DOH that this proposal was outside of their legal authority.

Subsequently, the DOH backed down and is no longer expanding the opt provisions, meaning they will remain the same as they currently are. This small win is worth celebrating.​