Iowa lawmakers have advanced a bill that would ban daycares, schools, and post-secondary schools from mandating coronavirus vaccinations for students.
The bill, dubbed House File 2040 (HF 2040), passed the state’s House Education Committee on Thursday “and could be set for debate in the House within the next month,” WHO 13 reported.
On Tuesday, HF 2040 “advanced through the House Education Subcommittee along party lines,” which led to Thursday’s vote, according to Iowa Public Radio.
If signed into law, the bill would restrict the implementation of such requirements until July 1, 2029.
Currently, few to no schools in the state mandate vaccinations for students, and Grinnell College is the only post-secondary school in the state that requires students to be inoculated, WHO 13 reports.
State Rep. Henry Stone, one of the thirty Republican state representatives who sponsored the bill, says he has heard schools may want to implement a mandate in the future.
“So there are schools out there that are,” Stone said, according to WHO 13. “We have heard rumors and words that schools are trying to implement this possibly mandate, now that any 5 and older (can get the vaccine).”
Democrat State Rep. Ruth Gaines has voiced her opposition to the legislation.
“I don’t think we should have a bill either way,” she said, per WHO 13. “Let’s just see what happens and address it accordingly to our own district and our own people.”
On Thursday, Speaker of the House Pat Grassley (R) spoke regarding school vaccine mandates.
“And you know everyone says well we have other vaccines and other things that you have to have,” said Grassley. “Well, number one there are exemptions for those. But also it is a fairly unique circumstance being on a trial basis. Not sure we really know what those long-term impacts are.”