The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Dec. 3 that it opened a civil rights investigation into allegations that a Midwestern school vaccinated a student without parental consent by ignoring the family’s religious exemption.
The investigation fits into the agency’s broader push to reinforce parental authority in children’s medical care.
HHS said the Midwestern school may have violated state law and requirements under the federal Vaccines for Children program, which requires providers to honor state-level religious and other exemptions. The review will also examine how state and district officials process exemption requests.
“Today, we are putting pediatric medical professionals on notice: you cannot sideline parents,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement. “When providers ignore parental consent, violate exemptions to vaccine mandates, or keep parents in the dark about their children’s care, we will act decisively. We will use every tool at our disposal to protect families and restore accountability.”
HHS also issued a Dec. 3 “Dear Colleague” letter reminding healthcare providers that, with few exceptions, federal law requires them to give parents full access to their children’s medical records. The letter says providers may not impose additional limits on a parent’s access beyond what state or federal law already allows.
“OCR [the Office of Civil Rights] is making parental access to children’s medical records an enforcement priority and will use all civil remedies available, including civil money penalties, to ensure compliance with this Privacy Rule requirement,” the letter states.
In a related step, HHS directed the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to add a new grant requirement that forces HRSA-funded health centers to follow all state and federal parental consent laws when treating minors. The requirement covers routine medical visits, counseling, and reproductive health.
Deputy Secretary and Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill said the new actions aim to restore public trust, adding that federal vaccine programs “should never circumvent parents’ rights.”