Background

A parent of a 12-year-old student at the Science Academy STEM Magnet school filed court papers challenging the Los Angeles Unified School District’s mandate that all students aged 12 and older be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Jan. 10 to enter campus unless they have a medical or other exemption. [1]

The plaintiff is identified only as G.F. in the lawsuit brought on behalf of the parent and the student, who is identified only as D.F. [1]

The district’s mandate requires all eligible students aged 12 and older to be vaccinated against the coronavirus by Jan. 10 to enter campus unless they have a medical or other exemptions. [2]

The Science Academy STEM Magnet school, located in North Hollywood, is a seven-year, college-preparatory public school that incorporates science, technology, engineering and mathematics. G.F.’s court papers state that D.F. studied hard to pass the entrance exam to be admitted to the school and does not want to have to leave because he and his parent choose to not have him receive the COVID-19 vaccine. [1]

“Losing his spot at the school would devastate D.F. and potentially foreclose future educational opportunities,” G.F’s court papers state. [1]

Significance

This case follows the San Diego ruling which ended the vaccine in that city’s schools. A similar decision could see more such rulings.

Plaintiff’s Argument

G.F. maintained the state and not the LAUSD is authorized to issue vaccination mandates and that the district’s requirement that unvaccinated pupils 12 years old and over attend independent learning classes outside campus violates the state Education Code. [3]

Coronavirus cases in the LAUSD have declined since teachers and children returned to in-person instruction in August, G.F.’s court papers state. In addition, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has found that children with the coronavirus have mild symptoms or none at all and that they rarely spread the virus, according to the court papers. [1]

Healthy children who have a natural immunity to COVID-19 and have not received the vaccine should not be discriminated against by the LAUSD, G.F.’s court papers state. In addition, keeping healthy children out of the classroom is contrary to state law and the students affected will not be able to make up for lost in-person learning, according to G.F.’s court papers. [1]

D.F., who has received all other required childhood immunizations, will suffer irreparable harm if not allowed to continue with his in-person learning and his two extra-curricular activities, G.F.’s court papers state. [1]

In a sworn declaration, G.F. says he believes the vaccine could irreparably harm his son, who has already contracted and recovered from the coronavirus and may have strong natural immunity. [3]

“Further, I worry that vaccinating him could prove even more dangerous now that he has had COVID-19,” G.F. says. “Among other things, I fear that the vaccination could overexcite his immune system and antibodies.” [3]

Having weighed those risks against what he believes to be a “statistically minuscule risk” that his son will contract the coronavirus again, G.F. says he “vehemently objects to LAUSD’s attempt to force his (son’s) vaccination.” [3]

In their court papers, LAUSD lawyers maintain that the court relief sought by G.F. and his son “fails on every conceivable level” and should have been denied. [3]

The relief sought by G.F. “asks this court to ignore the life-threatening risks presented by COVID-19 and the corresponding threat it poses to public education,”  the LAUSD attorneys argued in their court papers. [3]

Relevant Prior Judgements/ Cases

The group Let Them Breathe filed a lawsuit against the district in October 2021 in an attempt to enjoin the state from enforcing the mandate for students ages 12 and older, asserting that the requirement violates the law. [7]

San Diego Superior Court Judge John Meyer ruled in favor of the anti-mask group, determining that the vaccine requirement was in breach of state law. School staff, however, will still have to abide by the mandate. [7]

Meyer ruled that the state legislature, not the school districts themselves, has the power to enforce a vaccine mandate for school attendance. [7]

“The statutory scheme leaves no room for each of the over 1,000 individual school districts to impose a patchwork of additional vaccine mandates, including those like the [San Diego Unified vaccine] Roadmap that lack a personal belief exemption and therefore are even stricter than what the [state health department] could itself impose upon learned consideration,” Meyer wrote in a ruling, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. [7]

Meyer said that though the California legislature has granted the state public health department authority to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for schools, with the requirement that allowances be made for personal belief exemptions, the body did not give school districts the same power. [7]

See here for more “Let Them Breathe” Legal Actions

Proceedings

During a hearing in April (?) Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff said he was initially inclined to find in favor of the LAUSD [3]

Decision

Finding that the Board of Education’s authority is “great, but not unlimited,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff ruled in favor of the father of a 12-year-old student who challenged the Los Angeles Unified School District’s student COVID vaccine mandate, finding that the resolution approving the directive clashes with state law. [3]

The judge noted in his ruling that if D.F. remains unvaccinated, he will be forced to leave the academy and be subjected to a different curriculum. Beckloff further said that while the Board of Education’s authority is “great,” it is not unlimited. He found that the student vaccine resolution approved Sept. 9 conflicts with state law and clashes with the state Health and Safety Code by not allowing exemptions for personal beliefs. [3]

“While LAUSD argues the court’s ruling should apply to D.F. only, the court finds no justification for such a limitation given the board’s lack of authority to adopt the resolution,” Beckloff wrote. [3]

In his decision, Beckloff wrote that, with the exception of 10 vaccines that the state Legislature previously required of children to attend school in person, any new childhood immunization mandate must include a personal belief exemption clause. He noted that LAUSD’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate does not allow for that exemption. [6]

“That LAUSD’s resolution does not exempt the COVID-19 vaccine for personal beliefs is in direct conflict with (state) Health and Safety Code,” Beckloff wrote. [6]

He went on to say the Legislature “intended to preclude local legislation on a matter of state concern.” [6]

The district had also sought to have the court’s ruling apply only to D.F., instead of all students, but the judge disagreed. [6]

“The court finds no justification for such a limitation given the board’s lack of authority to adopt the resolution,” Beckloff wrote. [6]

Aftermath

Reaction from the Plaintiffs:

Arie Spangler, attorney for the plaintiff, said in a statement that the ruling “confirms that individual school districts do not have the authority to impose vaccination requirements in excess of statewide requirements.” [6]

“We are very pleased with the ruling, as it ensures that Los Angeles Unified School District cannot force children out of the classroom due to their Covid-19 vaccination status,” she stated. [6]

Reaction from the LAUSD:

The district, in its own statement, noted that the district bumped its timeline for implementing any student vaccination mandate to align with the state’s mandate and that any such requirement won’t take effect before full approval of a vaccine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and no sooner than July 1, 2023. [6]

“Accordingly, the District’s alignment with the Governor’s student vaccine mandate has allowed Los Angeles Unified students to enroll and attend in-person instruction,” the district said. “Los Angeles Unified will continue to take measures to ensure the health and safety of its students, employees and school community.” [6]

Reaction from Supporters:

Following the Judge’s ruling in favor of the child’s father, parents Tweeted about the results of the hearing.  Suzanne Bird @Skylar1 reminded parents, that they could, “now file for damages from illegal vaccine mandates.” [5]

The news was celebrated online by the activist group “Let Them Breathe”: 

Ruling against LAUSD vax mandate follows Let Them Breathe win against SDUSD vax mandate. We expect to prevail against Granada Hills & New West Charter schools. Schools like Willows & Mirman should immediately end mandates. Kids have a right education & we will uphold that right! [3]

Reopen California added

“HUGE NEWS: A judge ruled this morning that LASchools’ student Covid vaccine mandate was illegal, blocking LAUSD from sending kids to independent study for not getting the Covid vaccine,” Reopen California tweeted. [3]

“Even though LAUSD delayed their mandate to align with the state timeline, they still intended on excluding kids from in-person instruction if they did not get the Covid vaccine,” [3]

Further Research

Court Documents:

• Read the Court Ruling

In the news:

• …More information is needed…

Media

Keyword

California, Children, discrimination, education, LAUSD, school, segregation, Vaccine, Beckloff, San Diego, Let Them Breathe, Superior Court