Overview
On February 15, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order stating that federal discretionary funds “should not be used” to “directly or indirectly support or subsidize” educational institutions or agencies – including colleges and universities – that require “students to have received a COVID-19 vaccination to attend any in-person education program.” The order, as outlined, will affect all discretionary federal funds received by institutions. It states that COVID-19 vaccine mandates are an “intolerable infringement” on personal freedom, “usurp” parental authority, and “burden students of many faiths.” The goal of the order is to “empower” students and their parents to make their own decisions regarding the risks of COVID-19. (Note that the Biden administration had previously issued COVID-19 vaccination mandates for federal contractors in 2021, which included universities and colleges receiving federal contracts, as well as vaccination and testing mandates for many public and private employers.[1] Those mandates were withdrawn in 2022 and 2023.)
The order does not immediately impact federal funding for institutions with COVID-19 vaccination mandates. Instead, it orders the Secretary of Education to “issue guidelines” pertaining to these mandates, focusing on schools’ and agencies’ “legal obligations with respect to parental authority, religious freedom, disability accommodations, and equal protection.” The order states that within 90 days, by May 16, 2025, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall create a plan to end these mandates. This plan must contain: (1) a list of institutions mandating COVID-19 vaccines and the federal funds they currently receive, and (2) the executive branch’s processes for “preventing federal funds from being provided to, and rescinding federal funds from,” those institutions.
The order’s 90-day timeline leaves the Secretary of Education – a post for which Linda McMahon is awaiting confirmation – little time to collect the extensive information requested. Depending on how the Department of Education gathers this information, institutions may swiftly face oncoming reporting deadlines regarding their COVID-19 mandates. Notably, the order is written in the present tense, stating “institutions of higher education that are non-compliant with the guidelines issued,” suggesting that past mandates are not the primary concern of the administration at this time. The expected enforcement mechanism, which involves rescinding federal funding, remains uncertain in terms of its implementation. It also is unclear how many institutions may be affected; early reporting suggests that only 15 colleges and universities still require students to receive COVID-19 vaccines.[2]
There are already multiple legal challenges against the administration’s other executive orders aimed at freezing federal funding, and two federal district courts have stayed these orders. Given the rapid developments and the 90-day window for the Department of Education to issue its plan, it is possible that this order will also face legal challenges. Please return to this page for periodic updates to our client alert.
We recommend that higher education institutions review their current COVID-19 vaccination policies, consider the reporting requirements and potential liabilities of the new order, and determine if any changes are warranted. Steptoe is available to advise its clients on issues relating to the administration’s executive orders, and to assist with any necessary responses.
[1] What Colleges and Universities Need to Know About the Biden Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors, American Council on Education (Oct. 4, 2021), https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/ACE-Issue-Brief-on-Biden-Vaccine-Mandate.aspx; Biden Administration Announces New Vaccine Rules for Public and Private Sectors, American Council on Education (Nov. 8, 2021), https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/Biden-Admin-New-Vaccine-Rules.aspx.
[2] Benjamin Mueller, Trump Will Withhold Money from Schools That Require Covid Vaccines, N.Y. Times (Feb. 14, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/health/trump-schools-covid-vaccine-mandates.html.
