- Bill
- HB 561 (GA 136)
- Our position
- Support
- Status
- In Committee
- Sponsors
- Rep. Melanie Miller, Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel
Parental C.H.O.I.C.E Act
On October 27, 2025, the Parental C.H.O.I.C.E. Act was officially introduced by our champion joint sponsors:
Representative Melanie Miller 🇺🇸
Representative Monica Robb Blasdel 🇺🇸
The Parental C.H.O.I.C.E. Act is House Bill 561 in the 136th Ohio General Assembly, and is currently in committee.
What the Parental C.H.O.I.C.E. Act Does….
1. Strengthens enforcement of existing vaccine exemptions
Requires all K–12 schools, preschools, and daycares that mandate vaccines to honor Ohio’s current medical, religious, and conscientious exemptions.
2. Prohibits schools from demanding extra paperwork or specific forms
Schools cannot question a parent’s religion or request additional personal health information.
3. Ensures transparency for parents
Schools must clearly communicate exemption rights in all vaccine-related correspondence sent to parents.
4. Removes the Hepatitis B vaccine requirement for preschools and daycares
Aligns with the new recommendation from Trump/Kennedy to delay Hep B vaccination until age 12.
5. Establishes a complaint and enforcement process
Parents who are denied an exemption or not informed of their rights can file a complaint. Schools or programs that fail to comply within 30 days may face suspension of their charter or license.
6. Prevents discrimination against healthy, unvaccinated children
Schools may not exclude healthy, uninfected students from attendance during outbreaks of chickenpox, measles, or mumps.
🇺🇸 Please take a moment to thank our champion sponsors above and our Co-Sponsors listed below! 🇺🇸
Click on the names below to email them directly:
Rep Jennifer Gross · Rep D.J. Swearingen · Rep Tim Barhorst · Rep Thad Claggett · Rep Angela King · Rep Jean Lear · Rep Brian Lorenz · Rep Michelle Teska · Rep Ron Ferguson · Rep Jeff LaRe · Rep Thomas Hall · Rep Diane Mullins · Rep Kevin Miller · Rep Josh Williams · Rep Johnathan Newman · Rep Jason Stephens · Rep Justin Pizzulli · Rep Kellie Deeter · Rep Levi Dean · Rep Gary Click · Rep Tex Fischer
Tell the House Health Committee: PASS HB 561
HB 561 is in the House Health Committee. Email Chair Jean Schmidt and the committee members — and Speaker Matt Huffman, who is blocking its movement — and ask them to PASS HB 561 when they return in November. Three steps, five minutes.
Sign up for updates on HB 561
Hearing dates, committee votes, and the moment to call your legislator — the day it happens.
Copy the Health Committee email addresses
Copy all 14 addresses — the 13 committee members plus Speaker Huffman — and paste them into the To line of a new email in the email you use every day (Gmail, Yahoo, your phone). Or press Open email to the Health Committee to start one with the addresses, subject and message already filled in.
Did a window pop up asking you to sign in to Microsoft or Outlook? That is your computer’s mail program, not this page — and you don’t need it. Press the red Copy all 14 email addresses button, open the email you normally use (Gmail, Yahoo, your phone), and paste the addresses into the To line.
See the Health Committee and their emails
House 62 Jean Schmidt (R) Chair Rep62@ohiohouse.gov House 54 Kellie Deeter (R) Vice Chair Rep54@ohiohouse.gov House 8 Anita Somani (D) Ranking Member Rep08@ohiohouse.gov House 27 Rachel B. Baker (D) Rep27@ohiohouse.gov House 85 Tim Barhorst (R) Rep85@ohiohouse.gov House 28 Karen Brownlee (D) Rep28@ohiohouse.gov House 77 Meredith Craig (R) Rep77@ohiohouse.gov House 43 Michele Grim (D) Rep43@ohiohouse.gov House 45 Jennifer Gross (R) Rep45@ohiohouse.gov House 84 Angela N. King (R) Rep84@ohiohouse.gov House 67 Melanie Miller (R) Rep67@ohiohouse.gov House 12 Brian Stewart (R) Rep12@ohiohouse.gov House 36 Andrea White (R) Rep36@ohiohouse.gov House 78 Matt Huffman (R) Speaker of the House Rep78@ohiohouse.gov
Copy this subject line and message — then hit send
Subject: Please PASS HB 561, the Parental C.H.O.I.C.E. Act
The message
Chair Schmidt and members of the House Health Committee, Please support school exemption transparency, the right of conscientious exemption, and the prevention of segregating healthy children based on vaccination status. Please PASS HB 561 when you return in November! Thank you. Respectfully,
Add your name and town under “Respectfully,” then hit send. Want your name on the record too? Add it to the HB 561 petition — OAMF files every signature with its testimony.
Read the full bill text at the Ohio Legislature →
Watch
HB 561 “The Parental CHOICE Act” support testimony on Wednesday went very well!
— OAMF (@OhioAMF) March 21, 2026
We gave compelling information showcasing that schools across the state have been in fact, lying to parents for decades, and that there is an absolute need for not only transparency with regard to… pic.twitter.com/wt6Bh91YLV
Support Testimony- HB 561 “The Parental CHOICE Act” - Stacey Kopec
— OAMF (@OhioAMF) March 24, 2026
Stacey is a long time member of OAMF member and mother of 4. She shared her experience of being lied to by a Nordonia public school regarding vaccine exemptions and she also shared a story of one of her dance… pic.twitter.com/XMiZIuMD7a
Sign on and be counted
Add your name. OAMF files every signature with its testimony on The Parental C.H.O.I.C.E. Act — the more Ohioans on the record, the harder this is for the legislature to ignore.
Dear [Ohio lawmaker], I am writing to urge your support for House Bill 561, the Parental C.H.O.I.C.E. Act, introduced by joint sponsors Representative Melanie Miller and Representative Monica Robb Blasdel.
Ohio already recognizes medical, religious and conscientious vaccine exemptions. This bill makes that promise real. It requires every K-12 school, preschool and daycare that mandates vaccines to honor the exemptions Ohio law already grants, and it stops schools from demanding extra paperwork, questioning a parent's religion, or requesting additional personal health information.
It also ensures schools clearly communicate exemption rights to parents, removes the Hepatitis B vaccine requirement for preschools and daycares, establishes a real complaint and enforcement process, and prevents discrimination against healthy, unvaccinated children.
A right that a parent has to fight a school administrator to use is not much of a right. Please support House Bill 561, the Parental C.H.O.I.C.E. Act.