President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday prohibiting federal funding for educational institutions that mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for in-person attendance.
The order asserts that “some school districts and universities continue to coerce children and young adults into taking the COVID-19 vaccine by conditioning their education on it” and cautions that others might reinstate such mandates.
It directs the Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to devise a plan to terminate COVID-19-related mandates in schools. This includes compiling a list of federal grants and contracts awarded to institutions not complying with the new directive.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, present at the Oval Office signing, emphasized parental choice: “The decision to vaccinate should be up to a student’s parents.”
Currently, COVID-19 vaccinations are not required in K-12 schools nationwide, according to health policy research organizations Immunize.org and the National Academy for State Health Policy. Additionally, only 15 U.S. colleges still enforce COVID-19 vaccination requirements, as reported by No College Mandates, a group opposing such mandates.
During his campaign, Trump pledged to withdraw funding from schools imposing vaccine and mask mandates on students.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine critic, was sworn in this week, promising to address chronic disease epidemics. He overcame congressional resistance by assuring continued vaccine access for Americans.
In his inaugural interview, Kennedy reiterated his commitment to closely monitor vaccine side effects.
