Restoring Your Child’s Access to Education and Healthcare
On September 4, 2025, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a reminder that federally funded
vaccine programs, such as Vaccines for Children, must uphold religious and conscience protections, even in
states like CA, CT, ME, and NY where exemptions have been repealed. Federal protections and state human
rights laws, including California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, Connecticut’s CFEPA, Maine’s Maine Human
Rights Act, and New York’s NY Human Rights Law, prohibit religious discrimination in education and
healthcare. Following a September 10, 2025, meeting with OCR leadership, Guiding the Impact was
encouraged to advise parents to file complaints with OCR if their child is denied school enrollment or medical
care due to religious beliefs, enabling OCR to investigate and assert jurisdiction.
