Sen. Mann Seeks to Eliminate Religious and Conscience Vaccine Exemptions for Minnesota Schoolchildren with New Bill

SF4458 would remove the longstanding “conscientiously held beliefs” opt-out and leave only physician-certified medical exemptions.

Mar 14, 2026

In a sweeping effort to remove parental vaccine opt-out rights, a new bill introduced in the Minnesota Senate would eliminate the state’s longstanding religious and conscience exemption from school vaccination requirements, leaving physician-certified medical exemptions as the only pathway for students to attend school without the state’s mandated immunizations.

The bill’s stated purpose is to “prohibit use of an exemption to immunization due to conscientiously held beliefs.”

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Vaccines have been linked to millions of injuries and deaths, according to data from the CDC’s VAERS archives—while a Harvard Pilgrim Health Care study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and led by Dr. Ross Lazarus found that fewer than 1% of vaccine adverse events are ever reported to VAERS, meaning adverse events could be in the tens or hudreds of millions.

The new legislation, SF4458, was introduced this month by Sen. Alice Mann (D) and referred to the Senate Education Policy Committee.

You can contact Sen. Mann here and the rest of the state’s senators here to voice your opposition to the bill’s elimination of long-standing First Amendment conscience protections and its attempt to strip parents of their ability to decline state-mandated medical interventions for their children.

If enacted, the measure would remove a provision in Minnesota law that currently allows parents to decline school immunizations for their children by submitting a notarized statement citing religious or philosophical objections.

Under existing statute, parents may opt out by submitting a written statement declaring that their child is not vaccinated “because of the conscientiously held beliefs of the parent or guardian.”

The law currently states:

“If a notarized statement signed by the minor child’s parent or guardian… stating that the person has not been immunized… because of the conscientiously held beliefs of the parent or guardian… the immunizations specified in the statement shall not be required.”

SF4458 strikes this paragraph from Minnesota statute, effectively removing the belief-based exemption entirely.

Only Medical Exemptions Would Remain

Under the bill, students could still be exempted from vaccines if a physician certifies that immunization is medically contraindicated or laboratory testing confirms immunity.

However, religious objections, philosophical objections, and parental conscience objections would no longer be accepted.

Minnesota currently requires immunization against diseases including measles, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, haemophilus influenzae type b, and hepatitis B for school enrollment.

Children who do not meet these requirements—or who do not qualify for a medical exemption—cannot enroll or remain enrolled in school or child care facilities.

State Health Commissioner Could Modify Vaccine Schedule

The bill also leaves intact provisions allowing the Minnesota commissioner of health to modify the state’s vaccine schedule in accordance with national advisory bodies.

The statute states:

“The commissioner of health may adopt modifications to the immunization requirements of this section.”

Because the bill simultaneously removes belief-based exemptions, any future additions to the vaccine schedule adopted by the health commissioner would automatically become mandatory for school attendance, giving unelected public health officials the power to expand the list of required injections without direct legislative approval.

Reporting Requirements for Schools

Schools must continue submitting annual reports to state authorities documenting vaccination compliance among students.

The reports include:

total student enrollment
number of students not immunized
number of students receiving exemptions
number of students partially or fully vaccinated

These reports are forwarded to the Minnesota Department of Health and community health boards.

Homeschool Students Also Impacted

The legislation also affects homeschool students participating in school activities.

If homeschool parents fail to submit immunization statements required by the statute, school districts must prohibit those students from participating in extracurricular activities until compliance is achieved.

Legislative Status

SF4458 received its first reading in the Minnesota Senate on March 16 and has been referred to the Senate Education Policy Committee.

If enacted, the bill would represent a significant change to Minnesota’s vaccine policy by removing the state’s longstanding belief-based exemption for school immunization requirements.

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