July 21, 2026

Dear Mr. Speaker and Chairman Michlewitz,

On behalf of the Massachusetts Families for Vaccines Coalition, representing over 40 organizations across the Commonwealth, we write to respectfully request your support and urge favorable House action before July 31 for House Bill 2554, which would remove the non-medical exemption from required school vaccines and enhance data collection and sharing to better track immunization rates.

House Bill 2554 is supported by leading medical, public health, labor, education, and community organizations. Public support for this legislation is also clear: a poll conducted last month by Workbench Strategies found that 89% of Massachusetts voters support vaccinating K-12 students against contagious diseases for school and 70% want their legislators to vote in favor of H.2554. 73% of Democratic primary voters reported that they would be more likely to vote for an incumbent who supports House Bill 2554. Support for House Bill 2554 is broadly consistent across political party affiliations, demographic groups, and regions of the state.

Recent data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health indicate that use of the non-medical exemption continues to steadily increase. During the 2025-2026 school year, over a thousand kindergartners received non-medical exemptions from at least one vaccine—more than in any previous year. Seven out of 14 Massachusetts counties reported county-wide kindergarten MMR immunization rates below the 95% needed to prevent outbreaks, with many individual schools reporting immunization rates falling well below that level.

Strengthening our school vaccine requirements will protect the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable students and community members, prevent costly outbreaks, and improve transparency around immunization rates to provide parents with better peace of mind around their children’s safety at school. We therefore respectfully urge the Legislature to pass House Bill 2554.

Thank you for your consideration of this important public health legislation.