SB 646 - This act establishes the "School Freedom Act". No public or charter school shall implement or enforce any student dress requirements or COVID-19 preventative measures that include a mask or face covering mandate. No student shall be required, as a condition of school attendance or participation in school-sponsored extracurricular activities, to be immunized against COVID-19 or to undergo any testing policy as an alternative to a COVID-19 vaccination. A school may require a student to have a negative COVID-19 test to return to school attendance and activities following a positive COVID-19 test or COVID-19 symptoms. Schools shall allow parents or legal guardians the authority to choose whether to quarantine their child or send their child to school following close contact with an individual with COVID-19, provided that the child does not demonstrate COVID-19 symptoms or test positive for COVID-19. Finally, no child attending any day care center, pre-school, or nursery school shall be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of attendance.
This act is identical to provisions of SB 740 (2022) and substantially similar to provisions of SCS/SBs 702, 636, 651, & 693 (2022), SB 1203 (2022), and SB 1207 (2022).
SARAH HASKINS