A member of the U.S. Congress has drafted legislation that would strip federal funding from schools that don’t allow parents to apply for religious exemptions from vaccination requirements for their children.
The GRACE Act, or Guaranteeing Religious Accommodation in Childhood Education Act, drafted by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), would target elementary and secondary schools, as well as local and state educational agencies.
The legislation would not require state authorities or educational institutions to offer religious exemptions, but it would deny federal funds to those entities if they maintain vaccine mandates that don’t include provisions for religious exemptions.
“The denial of religious exemptions to families and children is un-American and unconstitutional,” said Michael Kane, CHD’s director of advocacy and founder of Teachers for Choice. “CHD and I thank Rep. Steube for putting forth this important legislation to right this wrong that is a clear violation of the First Amendment.”
The GRACE Act is a response to the “alarming erosion of civil rights” that occurred under the Biden administration, said Cait Corrigan, a former congressional candidate from New York and an advocate for medical freedom and religious liberty.
“This issue is one of religious freedom, individual liberty and parental rights, which I often describe as part of a broader response to years of increasing concern,” Corrigan said.
Steube’s office did not respond by deadline to The Defender’s request for comment on the legislation.
‘A matter of conscience, faith and the fundamental dignity of every family’
Corrigan said the proposed legislation is “not just an issue of policy” but “a matter of conscience, faith and the fundamental dignity of every family in this country.”
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