States With Religious and Philosophical Exemptions From School Immunization Requirements

All 50 states have legislation requiring specified vaccines for students. Although exemptions vary from state to state, all school immunization laws grant exemptions to children for medical reasons. There are 44 states and Washington D.C. that grant religious exemptions for people who have religious objections to immunizations. Currently, 15 states allow philosophical exemptions for children whose parents object to immunizations because of personal, moral or other beliefs. Many states align their vaccine requirements with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. At this time, California is the only state requiring children to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for school entry in 2022. Some cities, counties and school districts have added COVID-19 vaccine requirements for certain age groups or for certain activities such as participating in sports. Below this map are examples of enacted legislation related to school immunization requirements for the last several years.