Governor Ron DeSantis called a four‑day special session to push a bill that would let parents opt out of certain school vaccines on personal‑belief grounds. When House Speaker Daniel Perez opened the session Tuesday, he announced the chamber would not consider the proposal, effectively killing the measure before it reached a vote.

The proposal would have added a conscience exemption to Florida’s existing medical and religious carve‑outs, which already let families avoid immunizations for four diseases under health‑department rules. Senate leaders later announced they would table the measure as well, reinforcing the House’s stance. Critics warned broader exemptions could leave schools with unvaccinated children, raising outbreak risk.

Governor Ron DeSantis labeled the House’s refusal “political shenanigans” and accused opponents of aligning with “Big Tech” and the medical‑industrial complex. The governor had framed the bill as a “medical freedom” issue, likening it to his earlier bans on mask mandates. The setback marks the latest public clash between DeSantis and Speaker Perez, who have sparred over immigration and AI regulation.

With Republicans holding supermajorities in both chambers, the joint rejection curtails any immediate alteration to Florida’s school‑vaccination framework. Health officials will continue pursuing narrower repeals of specific disease requirements, but broader legislative changes appear stalled. The episode underscores intra‑party limits on DeSantis’s agenda and preserves the status quo for parents and schools.