by Jamil Ragland CTNewsJunkie
The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to Connecticut’s Covid-era law removing the religious exemption from school vaccine requirements.
The court formally denied a writ of certiorari that the plaintiffs, We the Patriots, Inc., filed in December 2023. The writ is a procedure where plaintiffs petition the court to hear a case that was decided by a lower court. U.S. District Court Judge Janet Arterton dismissed the initial lawsuit in January 2022 after ruling that the plaintiffs did not have standing to file.
The plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which upheld the district court’s decision on four out of five grounds. The court left open the question as to whether denying special education services to a child due to their vaccination status violates the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and remanded the question back to the district court.
RELATED
Connecticut Avoids National Increase in Childhood Vaccine Exemptions
Keep reading Connecticut Supreme Court Enters Fray on 2021 Repeal of Religious Vaccine Exemption Keep reading Appellate Court Dismisses Constitutional Claims in Vaccine Exemption Lawsuit Keep reading
Monday’s Supreme Court decision to deny the writ of certiorari leaves the circuit court’s ruling in effect.
In 2021, Connecticut passed Public Act No. 21-6, which ended the religious exemption for new students regarding vaccines that are required for children to be allowed to attend public schools. The law also expanded some medical exemptions and created protections for legacy students with religious exemptions so that they could complete their primary and secondary education without vaccinations.
“This is the end of the road to a challenge to Connecticut’s lifesaving and fully lawful vaccine requirements,” Attorney General Tong said. “We have said all along, and the courts have affirmed – the legislature acted responsibly and well within its authority to protect the health of Connecticut families and to stop the spread of preventable disease. Only one part of the case now remains active, involving a single plaintiff’s claim based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Office of the Attorney General is confident that the IDEA claim will be dismissed by the District Court on remand.”
Senate President Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, echoed those sentiments.
“By closing a loophole for non-medical vaccine exemptions, Connecticut embraced a common sense vaccination policy that protects the health and safety of all students,” they said in a joint statement. “This law has now withstood legal scrutiny at every level of our judicial system and its perseverance represents a victory for parents and students, who are less likely to be infected by preventable illnesses.”
We the Patriots, Inc., also has another active federal lawsuit in Connecticut. They are representing Milford Christian Church, which runs Milford Christian Academy for K-12 students as well as Little Eagles Pre-K for children aged 3-5. The church’s lawsuit claims that Connecticut’s vaccine mandate violates their First Amendment rights.
Brian Festa, vice president and cofounder of We The Patriots, Inc., called today’s decision a “setback,” but said that his organization was battling on many fronts. He referred to another active federal lawsuit in Connecticut. We The Patriots are representing Milford Christian Church, which runs Milford Christian Academy for K-12 students as well as Little Eagles Pre-K for children aged 3-5. The church’s lawsuit claims that Connecticut’s vaccine mandate violates their First Amendment rights.
“The court’s decision today, while disappointing, is not the end of the road for us in our fight to win back religious exemptions for schoolchildren,” Festa said in a statement. “The Second Circuit allowed one of our claims to proceed in this lawsuit, i.e. whether a child with a disability that has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is entitled to receive an education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), even if that child claims a religious exemption to vaccinations. As the IDEA mandates that schools which receive federal funding for special education programs and services provide a free and appropriate education for children on IEPs, we believe federal law is clear that schools are required to provide these children with an education. We are looking forward to trial in district court on this issue.”