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Florida could soon become the first state in the nation to eliminate all vaccine requirements, including those that protect children attending public schools. The proposal would undo decades of proven public health safeguards and, according to educators and health experts, open the door to the return of measles, mumps, polio and chickenpox which can cause serious illness, disability and even death.
Educators across the state are sounding the alarm. “State leaders say they care about reducing chronic absenteeism and keeping kids in school—but reducing vaccinations does the opposite,” according to a Florida Education Association statement. “It puts our children’s health and education at risk. Florida leaders claim to care about students but silence experts and take actions that make schools less safe.”
A plan that threatens attendance—and academic success
Sheryl Posey, a school psychologist with 24 years of experience, knows the stakes better than most. Posey, who is a member of the Florida Education Association, works with students who have complex needs and rely on consistent medical protection in order to safely attend school.
“I work with kids with special needs and a lot of them are medically fragile,” she says. “When you’re talking about rolling back vaccines, you’re talking about impacting children who are already predisposed to certain conditions. While some people say, ‘It’s just a cough,’ to these kids it could mean a hospital stay. It could mean weeks out of school.”
And the risks don’t stop at school. Many of Posey’s students live in multigenerational households. “While kids might not get that sick,” she says, “it could really impact grandparents or others living in the home.”
She says schools across Florida have not fully recovered from the surge in truancy that followed the pandemic. Chronic absenteeism, a key predictor of dropping out, remains far higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Posey sees the proposal as a step backward.
“They’re going to end up causing kids to have more days out, days they cannot afford to lose,” she says. Missing school means slipping in reading and math, struggling to catch up and, for too many, eventually giving up. “We still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. Rolling back vaccine requirements will make that worse.”
Teachers’ health on the line
The concern extends to staff as well. Posey notes that many educators have autoimmune disorders or conditions that make them especially vulnerable to contagious diseases.
“As a union representative, I’m worried about our teachers. Some can’t get vaccinated. And when they get sick, we have difficulty finding coverage. That disrupts learning for everyone.”
Posey stresses that vaccines don’t just protect individuals—they protect entire communities. “This is about herd immunity,” she says. “That’s how we eradicate diseases. When your choice impacts everybody around you, it’s not just your choice anymore—it becomes a choice for the whole community.”
She hesitates when asked whether she believes most parents will continue vaccinating their children if mandates disappear. “I wish I could say yes, but I don’t. There’s so much misinformation out there. Parents with the best intentions are being scared into not vaccinating their children.”
That, she believes, is where the union must play an active role. “I definitely feel the union has a role to play here,” Posey says. “We need to encourage parents to listen to their medical professionals.”
Posey wants policymakers—and the public—to understand that educators are speaking out because they care deeply about students. “Every teacher I’ve talked with is worried about how this will affect kids,” she says. “They’re worried about students becoming ill, missing school, falling behind. Yes, they’re worried for themselves too, but their first reaction is about the kids.”
Referring to the recent public rhetoric that has cast teachers as adversaries, Posey says, “Teachers have been villainized lately. But when we speak up about vaccines, it’s out of an abundance of concern for children. We want students to come to school healthy and safe—and we want to work in an environment that’s healthy and safe too.”
For more information about the importance of wellness checkups and routine vaccinations so that children and their families can stay healthy, visit www.getvaxfacts.org. You can also learn more from the AFT’s “Serving the Medically Fragile Child in the School Setting” report.
[Adrienne Coles]