{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lee.senate.gov/2026/7/we-don-t-worship-fauci-lee-bill-pulls-tax-dollars-from-schools-that-deny-religious-vaccine-exemptions", "\u201cWe Don\u2019t Worship Fauci\u201d Lee Bill Pulls Tax Dollars from Schools that Deny Religious Vaccine Exemptions", "2026-07-23", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "UT", "Mike Lee", "L000577", "www.lee.senate.gov", "mikelee", "https://www.lee.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) today introduced legislation to keep federal tax dollars from schools that refuse to recognize religious exemptions for vaccinations. The Guaranteeing Religious Accommodation in Childhood Education (GRACE) Act protects religious freedom and parental rights by cutting federal funding from noncompliant schools, and prevents schools from targeting families with burdensome religious documentation requirements. The GRACE Act is cosponsored by Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), was introduced in the House by Congressman Greg Steube (R-FL-17), and is endorsed by over fifty organizations.\n\n\u201cSchools are discriminating against religious kids and targeting their families over vaccine exemptions,\u201d said Senator Mike Lee. \u201cKeeping a kindergartner out of class over a vaccine is cruel \u2013 and it\u2019s unconstitutional when the reason is their family\u2019s religion. The GRACE Act will keep federal tax dollars out of schools that refuse religious exemptions for vaccines, and will outlaw targeting families to prove their beliefs. These schools need to learn we don\u2019t all worship Fauci.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a free country and parents have every right to make personal decisions about what vaccines they choose to give their children,\u201d said Senator Tommy Tuberville. \u201cLast time I checked, parents are in charge of a child\u2019s healthcare decisions, not the federal government. Taxpayer funded K-12 schools have no right to turn students away at the door because of their vaccination status \u2013 especially if they have a religious exemption. The GRACE Act is an incredibly important bill that protects religious liberty and puts parents back in charge.\u201d\n\n\u201cFreedom of speech and religion is the most sacred right guaranteed under our Constitution,\u201d said Congressman Greg Steube. \u201cNo student or their family should ever be coerced into sacrificing their faith or jumping through loopholes to comply with a vaccine requirement. The GRACE Act reaffirms our country\u2019s commitment to protecting religious freedom in the classroom.\u201d\n\nThe GRACE Act is supported by families and endorsed by over fifty organizations including Guiding The Impact, Family Research Council, First Liberty, Children\u2019s Health Defense, MAHA Action, Moms for Liberty, Global Wellness Forum, and many others.\n\nRead the experiences of American families impacted by discriminatory vaccine mandates at a recent hearing and below:\n\n\"I am very thankful for Senator Lee's legislation to provide equal opportunities for children and to restore religious liberty. The repeal of the religious exemption has become etched into every part of who I am. No child should ever have to go through the exclusion and isolation that my sister and I did. Without my parents' sacrifices, we would have lost important parts of our childhood. Though I love my new school, I always worry whether I will lose my place in class if religious exemptions are repealed again. I worry about losing my access to learning, friends, teachers, self esteem \u2013 everything that took so long to build back. All children in the United States should have equal access to education, regardless of their faith. That is what our founding fathers envisioned so many years ago.\u201d \u2013 Isabella, 14-year-old student who was denied her right to an education on her 7th birthday\n\n\"We are incredibly thankful for Senator Lee's courage and leadership. Our family continues to sacrifice education, privacy, financial stability, and the peaceful enjoyment of our lives in order to maintain our religious convictions as we raise our children. A truly inclusive society offers every child a seat in the classroom, which many states have safely accomplished. This legislation would bring desperately needed relief to our children and to families who have endured great harm and sacrifice as a result of their commitment to faith.\u201d \u2013 Nancy, mother to Isabella and parent impacted by discriminatory vaccine mandates\n\n\u201cSince California eliminated its religious exemption for school immunization requirements in 2015, my daughter has been unable to attend the neighborhood school she would otherwise attend today. We live near the school, so she regularly sees children her age walking through the gates with their backpacks. She looks at me and asks, \"Mom, why can't I go to school like the other kids?\" There is no easy way to explain to a 7-year-old that she can't attend because California no longer recognizes our family\u2019s sincerely held religious beliefs.\u201d \u2013 Karen, parent impacted by discriminatory vaccine mandates\n\n\"When New York repealed its religious exemption in 2019, our oldest son was forced out of the high school he loved, our younger children were denied access to daycare and school, and my husband and I spent three years homeschooling while working full-time. Ultimately, we had no choice but to uproot our family and move to Florida \u2013 leaving behind our home, careers, friends, extended family, and even our oldest son and grandson \u2013 so our younger children could receive an education without requiring us to violate our Christian faith. No American family should ever be driven from their home state simply to exercise a God-given right protected by the First Amendment.\" \u2013 Elyse Young, Founder, Guiding the Impact\n\nBackground\n\nVaccine mandates for children in K-12 schools began in 1855, with all 50 states requiring a variety of student vaccines by 1980. These mandates require children to receive state-selected vaccinations in order to enroll in classes, and sometimes to participate in extracurricular activities.\n\nWhile students may receive an exemption from one or more vaccines for medical, religious, or personal reasons, religious exemptions are often viewed as less legitimate than medical exemptions and are the most challenging for students to obtain. Requirements to receive an exemption range from providing a note signed by a legal guardian to showing explicit documentation proving religious affiliation. These hurdles for non-medical vaccine exemptions have caused some parents to withdraw their child from school \u2013 sometimes neglecting to provide education entirely. Other students in California, Connecticut, Maine, and New York are not allowed any form of religious exemption and must be vaccinated at the expense of their beliefs in order to attend school.\n\nBefore removing their religious freedom exemptions in recent years, California and New York reported that approximately 1-3% of their students held religious freedom exemptions, and Maine saw approximately double the national rate for non-medical exemptions. Thousands of American children are now blocked from attending the schools their tax dollars pay for, solely because of their sincerely held religious beliefs.\n\nThe GRACE Act would rectify this injustice by ensuring that the federal government does not financially support school policies that supersede students\u2019 First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion.\n\nThe Guaranteeing Religious Accommodation in Childhood Education (GRACE) Act:\n\nProhibits federal education funds from any educational institutions and agencies that do not allow religious exemptions to vaccine requirements.\n\nPrevents institutions from requiring documentation or other information to be submitted by the student or family obtaining a religious exemption.\n\nRead exclusive coverage by Breitbart News here.", 1, "2026-07-24T07:30:11Z", "2026-07-24T07:31:13Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lee.senate.gov/2026/7/we-don-t-worship-fauci-lee-bill-pulls-tax-dollars-from-schools-that-deny-religious-vaccine-exemptions"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6281121168285608, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}