The academy filed a petition Friday with the Division of Administrative Hearings, arguing that the Florida Department of Health failed to follow required procedures as it sought to repeal the rules. The filing asks for an administrative hearing and a determination that the department exceeded its authority.

The petition also includes Jacksonville physician Danielle Carter and two people identified in court documents as T.K. and K.O. T.K. is a 70-year-old with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, a condition that makes the person vulnerable to viruses; K.O. is a school nurse.

The academy argues that the department allowed 225 days to pass without advancing the rulemaking, beyond the 180-day limit cited in the petition. It says the department’s letters to the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee in February and June did not explain the delay, as state law requires when rulemaking is delayed.

The department held its first public meeting on the proposal in Panama City on Dec. 12, 2025. It proposed a rule on Aug. 24 that largely mirrored the existing requirements. On Sept. 30, the department abandoned a separate effort to expand exemptions and announced a public meeting on the vaccine-rule change for Oct. 8 in Lake Mary.

The requirements are administrative rules rather than state statutes, meaning the health department can repeal them without approval from the Legislature. The petition contends that Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s views do not override the department’s legal responsibility to prevent communicable diseases by overseeing vaccination of children.

Ladapo has argued that ending the four requirements would strengthen parental choice and public health. “A public health system where parents are actively making decisions and choices about their health, about the health of their children, rather than just going along with something because they don't feel like they have a choice, leads to a much stronger public health system,” he said.

The academy says the proposed change is not supported by new medical or scientific evidence questioning the vaccines’ need, safety or effectiveness. It argues that dropping the rules would abandon longstanding protections without scientific justification or adherence to accepted medical standards.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, first lady Casey DeSantis and Ladapo began advocating more than a year ago to remove vaccine mandates broadly. No bill to eliminate all requirements was filed during the 2026 legislative sessions. A “Medical Freedom” bill that would have expanded exemptions and required doctors to offer an alternate vaccine schedule passed the Senate but failed in the House.