# Plain Language Summary: COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Funding Bill

This bill would cut off federal funding to school districts that require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19. If a local school district has a policy requiring students to get the COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend school, that district would lose all federal money it receives. This applies to public elementary and secondary schools only—private schools and colleges are not covered by this bill.

The practical impact would be significant for school districts that currently have vaccine requirements. Federal funding supports many school programs and services, including special education, Title I programs for low-income students, school meals, transportation, and other essential services. A school district losing this funding would have to either drop its vaccine requirement or find other ways to make up the lost money, likely through local taxes or by cutting programs and services.

For families, this could mean different things depending on where they live. In districts with vaccine requirements, the bill creates pressure to eliminate those requirements to keep federal funding flowing. For families who support vaccine requirements, this could result in those policies being dropped. For families who oppose vaccine requirements, this bill would help remove them. The bill essentially uses federal funding as leverage to prevent schools from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for student enrollment.

It's worth noting that this bill was introduced in November 2022, well after most school districts had already made decisions about vaccine policies during the height of the pandemic. The bill's actual effect would depend on whether any school districts still have active vaccine mandates in place.

To prohibit the provision of Federal funds to a local educational agency that imposes or enforces a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on students at the schools served by such agency.

Van Drew, Jefferson

 <p>This bill prohibits a local educational agency (LEA) from receiving federal funds if the LEA imposes or enforces a COVID-19 vaccine requirement on students at public elementary and secondary schools under the jurisdiction of the LEA.</p>