An Ohio lawmaker introduced a bill that would prohibit a public or private school from discriminating against an individual based on COVID-19 vaccination status.
Republican Representative Scott Lipps (R-OH-62) put forward House Bill (HB) 739 earlier this month. Although the state does not mandate COVID-19 vaccines in schools, Lipps said HB 739 is a preemptive measure for future law changes.
According to HB 739, “no public or chartered nonpublic school shall discriminate against an individual, including by excluding, penalizing, or segregating the individual, refusing to enroll the individual, or withholding from or denying to the individual any advantage, facility, good, opportunity, privilege, or service, based on either of the following: Whether or not the individual has received one or more doses of a vaccine against COVID-19, including any of its variants.”
The state of Ohio does not currently require the COVID-19 vaccine for school students despite a recommendation from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) panel.
The CDC recommended adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the federal government’s list of routinely recommended vaccinations last month. The panel’s decision, likely to be adopted by the CDC director, formally adds the shot to a list often used by schools and health officials in making vaccination requirements.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, the currently required vaccines for school attendance in Ohio are:
– DTap/DT Tdap/Td (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Whooping Cough);
– Polio;
– MMR (Mumps, Measles, and Rubella (also known as German Measles));
– Hep B (Hepatitis B);
– Varicella (Chickenpox); and
– MCV4 (Meningitis);
“The CDC can make a recommendation if they want, but they can’t tell Ohio schools to require a COVID vaccine. The General Assembly makes Ohio law, and we have no COVID vaccine requirement in our state. Period,” Lt. Governor Jon Husted said on social media.
Supporters of the bill, such as Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom (AMF), say that they have not identified a childcare facility or K-12 school that has mandated the COVID vaccine for their children. Still, they have seen at least one example of a school district that is considering such a policy.
The bill does have some issues in the language. The title of the bill states it is for “public and private” schools; however, the potential change in the law would state “public or chartered nonpublic” schools. The short bill also does not show examples of how it will be enforced.
Proponents of required COVID-19 vaccinations, such as the Associate of Bioethics Program Directors (ABPD), say that broad vaccine mandates for COVID-19 are ethically justified.
“While voluntary vaccination is preferable because of this, education and incentives have not worked to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates. Mandatory vaccination, therefore, is now the least restrictive way to minimize the virus’s damage,” ABPD said.
Previously, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a similar bill into law. In October of 2021 HB, 244 became law, barring school districts from forcing any person to get a vaccine that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not fully approved. Since that time, the FDA has granted such approval to the COVID-19 shot.
“I am and will remain 100% opposed to forced mandates and employees being terminated or otherwise coerced for not getting a vaccine (particularly when they have a medical exemption),” Lipps said in a statement.
The bill has yet to be scheduled for committee hearings.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected].
