A state judge has granted a coalition of San Diego parents a hearing on their petition requesting a writ of mandamus against San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) that, if approved, would permanently end the district’s student vaccine mandate.
In the process of granting a hearing, which is scheduled to take place on Dec. 20, San Diego Superior Court Judge John Meyer denied a temporary injunction.
“Since San Diego Unified attorneys made it very clear that San Diego Unified is not planning to exclude any students for almost two months, the judge simply said there was no reason to issue emergency relief that would have been temporary and instead he wants to have a full hearing on a writ of mandate,” said Sharon McKeeman, founder of Let Them Choose, which sued SDUSD. “It is actually a positive in that obviously we want this to move as quickly as possible.”
SDUSD unanimously passed a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students and staff in September.
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.
But Let Them Choose, an initiative of 20,000 parents launched by the sister group Let Them Breathe, is accusing SDUSD of pressuring families to immunize their children by saying that the deadline for the first shot was Nov. 30.
“Our attorneys looked into it and we know, technically, that was just a timing guideline and that San Diego Unified has no plans to exclude unvaccinated students before January 24th,” McKeeman told the Southern California Record. “San Diego Unified reiterated that multiple times in court.”
On Oct. 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the COVID-19 vaccine will be required for in-person school attendance but SDUSD’s vaccine mandate differs from the statewide requirement in that it does not allow for religious exemptions.
“It's very clear that the judge understands that there are weighty legal issues at play here and that this is about whether the school district has the authority to mandate vaccines outside of the state’s mandate and we're arguing that they do not,” McKeeman added. “We think it's extremely clear that SDUSD does not have sole authority to deny personal belief exemptions that are protected under California state law.”