C.H.O.I.C.E. Act stirs debate over who can come to school during a disease outbreak

by Anthony Morris

House Bill 561, otherwise known as the Parental Clarity on Health Options and Information on Conscientious Exemptions, or C.H.O.I.C.E. Act, is sparking debate regarding school exemption protocol during local disease outbreaks.

HB 561 would change the Ohio law so that during an outbreak, schools would no longer be allowed to deny admission to unvaccinated students, a “long-standing safeguard designed to prevent the spread of contagious diseases and protect those students most vulnerable if they contracted the disease,” wrote Kelly Morris, president of the Ohio Public Health Association. 

The Ohio Association of School Nurses also opposes the bill. 

“In order for them [students] to be diagnosed with the disease, they have to have the full-blown disease – and by that time, they may have exposed many other children who are not vaccinated,” OASN executive director Kate King said.

The bill would also remove Hepatitis B vaccinations from childcare requirements for attending daycares and preschools. In her official testimony, King said this vaccination is proven to reduce chronic Hepatitis B disease in children, and its removal in a childcare setting where potential exposure to body fluids is heightened “has the potential to increase a preventable chronic disease for our most vulnerable population.”

As its name suggests, the C.H.O.I.C.E. Act intends to give parents proper guidance and information regarding childhood vaccinations and legal exemptions. Whenever schools notify parents or guardians about vaccination requirements, the bill would also require notification about exemptions.

“It’s your decision whether you want to vaccinate or not as a parent,” said Stephanie Stock, president of Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom, a public proponent of the C.H.O.I.C.E. Act. “We just want to make sure that you know what your rights are and that the schools are required to make sure that you know what your rights are as well.”

This sentiment is shared between both supporters and opponents of the bill.

King said denying admission to unvaccinated students during an outbreak isn’t done lightly. There is “a policy, a process, and making sure we are doing this in the correct manner– and again, it does not happen very often,” she said.

While she believes in informed decision-making, Morris said it should be health care providers, not the schools, working with parents on these decisions. 

Stock said it is the job of public health authorities and organizations to provide sufficient science to convince parents to vaccinate their children. “If they can’t do that, then Ohio parents aren’t the problem,” she said. “They’re the problem.”

Given falling child vaccination rates, denying admission to unvaccinated children helps protect them, Morris said. 

“With not having enough of the population vaccinated to control the spread, and diseases often are transmitted before symptoms start, you can’t just exclude symptomatic children,” Morris said.“You have to also exclude those that are not vaccinated.” 

Primary sponsors Rep. Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) and Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel (R-New Waterford) were not available for an interview. In an emailed statement, Blasdel said she sponsored the legislation “because parents should be fully informed of the rights they already have under Ohio law regarding vaccine exemptions for their children. House Bill 561 does not create new exemptions; rather, it improves transparency and consistency so that families, schools, and childcare providers clearly understand and apply the law as written.”

Though the bill was introduced in October 2025, and referred to committee in November, it has not progressed. 

“I think there’s still a lot of work to do with the language of this bill,” King said, “and so I think moving forward there would be some more discussion and maybe some amendments to it.” 

This story was written by Anthony Morris for Kent State NewsLab, which shares stories by Kent State University School of Media and Journalism students with professional media partners. This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.