As the number of confirmed measles cases in Florida increases, so does Gov. Ron DeSantis’ passion to pass legislation to make it easier for parents to turn down the required vaccines for public school students.
Florida this year has seen 134 confirmed measles cases as of April 23, the fourth most in the nation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Florida Department of Health data, meanwhile, puts the number of confirmed cases for the year as of April 17 slightly lower, at 131 confirmed cases.
But DeSantis is not letting the outbreak impede his campaign for legislators to consider his “medical freedom” proposal as one of the issues they will tackle this week in a special session that starts Tuesday. The four-day session will also include congressional redistricting and a bill on artificial intelligence.
The Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday will consider SB 6D, offered by Jacksonville Republican Sen. Clay Yarborough.
The bill is identical to SB 1756, also sponsored by Yarborough. That bill passed the Senate during the 2026 regular session but died after never being considered in the House.
DeSantis, who will be term-limited out of office in January, has said he will continue to make the issue a priority as long as he is governor.
DeSantis’ continued push for the proposal, however, may not amount to much.
In an interview with WPLG, a South Florida television station, House Speaker Daniel Perez hinted that he doesn’t support the proposal.
“My concern with the vaccines is, in the middle of a measles outbreak, it’s tough for me to all of a sudden allow for children in schools to not have the measles vaccines, to not have polio, to not have chickenpox,” he told the station.
No legislation addressing vaccines or so-called “medical freedom” had been filed in the House as of Monday afternoon.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.This article appears in Apr. 23 – 29, 2026.