A rule change package for child care centers in Montana went into effect after the end of the 2025 legislative session, bringing with it a new requirement that all day care centers must accept religious vaccine exemptions. The new rule is drawing criticism from some local child care centers whose directors say their hand is being forced, and from families concerned with their children’s health.

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) proposed a mandatory inclusion of religious exemptions in the summer of 2022, but encountered resistance from the Montana Legislature’s Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Interim Committee, whose members objected to it.

By Zoë Buhrmaster