The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Ohio HB 561 Enacts C.H.O.I.C.E. Act to Mandate Immunization Conscience Exemptions and Compliance Notices in Schools and Child Care
Last action · November 12, 2025: Referred to HealthSponsors: Melanie Miller and 23 others
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Would Do
Ohio House Bill 561 establishes mandatory conscience and religious exemptions for childhood immunizations across preschools, K-12 schools, and child care facilities, while requiring explicit notice of these rights on websites and communications. The measure sets up a formal state complaint and investigation process, directing the suspension of facility licenses or school charters for non-compliance within thirty days.
Schools, preschools, and child care providers must immediately update their digital platforms and parent communications to include statutory exemption notices or face state licensing suspensions and s.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Parents and guardians
Parents retain the explicit right to decline immunizations for conscience or religious reasons and must receive standardized notices of exemptions.
School districts and nonpublic schools
Schools must update all communication channels and websites to include immunization exemption notices or face charter revocation.
Child care centers and family homes
Child care facilities must display exemption notices and face license suspension if they fail to comply with state complaint orders.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What reasons can parents use to decline immunizations for their children under this bill?
What happens if a school or child care center fails to post or honor immunization exemptions?
Can schools require parents to fill out an official state exemption form?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
2 actions- Nov 12, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Health
- Oct 29, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 19 more sponsors
%20(1)_edited.jpg){kind=small}
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Uniform Exemption Notice Enforcement
The bill establishes strict administrative penalties, including charter revocation and license suspension, tied directly to compliance with notification and exemption honoring rules.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legislature.ohio.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy85Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools