In Michigan, Administrative Rule R 325.176(12) currently requires that every nonmedical (religious or other) exemption be certified by the local health department after an education session, and that it be submitted only on the official state waiver form. This turns a protected religious right into a bureaucratic waiver process.
The GRACE Act would change that for any school or educational agency receiving federal education funds. It would:
- Require schools to recognize a religious exemption based solely on a parent’s or guardian’s assertion of a sincerely held religious belief.
- Prohibit schools from demanding documentation, health-department certification, education sessions, or any other supporting information to validate that religious claim.
- Effectively disallow the certification and mandatory-form requirements in R 325.176(12) as applied to religious exemptions.
The GRACE Act does not force any state to create a religious exemption if none exists, but it will cut federal education funding to any state or school that denies or burdens the right to a religious exemption from vaccination.
Why the GRACE Act Is Needed
States do not have the right to trample on religious liberty, which is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
- The GRACE Act is fully consistent with federal law and the Constitution.
- If passed, it would be extremely difficult for the Supreme Court to overturn a statute that codifies the free exercise of religion.
- Religious liberty is guaranteed at the federal level and sets a legal floor that all states must respect.
- Religious protection supersedes conflicting state health policies as a matter of federal law.
- States may enact health laws as they see fit—so long as those laws do not violate religious protections.
- There must be a true balance between religious liberty and public health, not the dominance of health policy that eliminates religious liberty.
- In Michigan specifically, the Act would restore a genuine religious exemption free from the current waiver and certification hurdles.
Significant momentum exists to end this form of discrimination. The time to act is now. Contact your federal lawmakers today and urge them to support the GRACE Act!
