Beginning July 1, Idaho will enforce a new law that bars private businesses and schools from mandating medical interventions, including vaccines, medications and procedures, as a condition of employment, service or enrollment.
Gov. Brad Little signed the legislation, referred to as the “Idaho Medical Freedom Act,” April 4, after a last-minute push by state lawmakers to revise a similar bill he vetoed a week prior. The final version includes language referencing existing public health and school codes, which lawmakers say addresses concerns around barring schools from sending home students with contagious conditions, according to the Idaho Statesman.
The law makes Idaho the first state to explicitly prohibit vaccine mandates in both private and public sectors. However, it includes exemptions for entities that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid funds.
Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and public health experts, have raised concerns about the bill’s vague language and potential for legal challenges. It remains unclear, for example, how the law will apply to private childcare facilities, some of which currently require staff and students to be vaccinated.
Idaho leads the nation in vaccine exemptions among kindergarten students, with 14.3% having at least one exemption in the 2023 to 2024 school year, according to CDC data. Nationally, the move reflects broader trends as multiple states consider restrictions on vaccine mandates and skepticism toward certain immunization types, particularly mRNA vaccines, gains traction.
More than a dozen states have introduced similar medical intervention bans, according to Bloomberg Law.
