Florida 'Medical Freedom' bill clears Senate, dies in the House
Why it matters
Florida is the test case for how far the reform agenda can move through a friendly legislature. This session showed both the momentum, a Senate-passed bill, and the ceiling: it stalled short of repealing school mandates.
In the 2026 Florida legislative session, the effort to roll back school vaccine requirements advanced further than before but did not become law. The leading vehicle, CS/CS/SB 1756 (“Medical Freedom”), passed the Senate but died in the House, recorded as “Died in Messages” on March 13, 2026.
As passed by the Senate, the bill primarily expanded conscience- and religion-based exemptions rather than repealing school-entry mandates outright, a narrower measure than Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo's stated goal of ending all state vaccine mandates.
The bill marks how far reform has gotten in Florida so far: real progress in one chamber, and unfinished business heading into the next session.
Source
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