President Donald Trump signed a White House directive Friday that could result in the loss of federal funding for states, schools, and universities that mandate that kids receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, the order is unlikely to have a major impact nationwide since most schools and colleges have already removed COVID-19 vaccine requirements, and many states have passed laws banning such mandates. Health and Human Services and the Education Department are instructed to develop a strategy to terminate COVID-19 vaccination requirements. What funds would be used as leverage in the scheme is unclear. Congress issued orders for the majority of federal education funds.

The order is meant to fulfil a campaign promise from Trump, who repeatedly stated that he would not provide funding to any school with a vaccine mandate. It applies only to Covid-19 vaccines. However, all states already have laws requiring schoolchildren to be vaccinated against diseases like measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, whooping cough, and chickenpox. All US states permit exemptions for children who have medical conditions that prevent them from receiving certain vaccines. Most states also allow exemptions for religious or other non-medical reasons.

During the pandemic, some universities began mandating students to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but the majority have already removed the demand. Some, like Swarthmore and Oberlin universities, nevertheless mandate vaccinations for students who live on campus. Religious or medical exemptions are permitted at the majority of those colleges. Statewide student vaccine mandates were uncommon. California had planned to add COVID-19 to the required vaccines for K-12 students, but the rule was never enforced and was later dropped. Similarly, Illinois required college students to be vaccinated but removed the mandate after about a year.