A coalition of parents is preparing to file a lawsuit after the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) unanimously passed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students and staff last week.
Like the Los Angeles Unified and Oakland school districts, SDUSD is requiring students 16 years and older to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus or face the prospect of distance learning.
“As a district, we are obligated to make our schools as safe as possible for the students we are trusted to care for and educate, as well as for our dedicated educators and staff members,” board president Richard Barrera said in a statement online.
Let Them Choose, an initiative of 20,000 parents launched by the sister group, Let Them Breathe, sent a 7-page demand letter to the school district before its Sept. 28 vote.
“We don't feel that it should be mandated at this point,” said Sharon McKeeman, founder of Let Them Breathe. “There aren't long-term studies. Let Them Breathe’s mission is more focused on mask choice and then we now have our Let Them Choose initiative, which has to do with vaccine choice when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine for students.”
The Sept. 23 demand letter, written by attorney Arie Spangler, warned the school board that an individual public school district does not have the authority to condition student admission based on specific additional vaccinations beyond those that are already required under state law.
“If SDUSD approves such a mandate, Let Them Choose will consider all available options, including a lawsuit to seek an injunction against SDUSD, preventing it from implementing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate and excluding students who choose to remain unvaccinated,” Spangler stated in the letter.
On Oct. 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the COVID-19 vaccine will be required for in-person school attendance. SDUSD’s vaccine mandate differs from the statewide requirement in that it does not allow for religious exemptions.
“Their stance is that they can be more restrictive as a school district but the problem for them is they still have to follow the law," McKeeman said. "SB 277 says they can't put in place a mandate for the COVID vaccine without allowing personal belief exemptions, and AB130 protects in-person learning and does not allow them to move students to distance learning without consent."
AB 130 includes a provision in which school districts must offer independent study programs for the 2021-22 school year, according to media reports.
"We will have legal correspondence to both San Diego Unified and the state prepared, and we're tailoring exactly what those next legal steps will be," McKeeman said. "This is probably going to end up in court just like our concerns over the mask mandate."