Board members of the San Diego Unified School District unanimously voted Tuesday to appeal the judge’s ruling on it's COVID-19 vaccine mandate in a closed session.
“As our country and our community enters a new and dangerous stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the board of education met this afternoon and agreed to file an appeal in order to keep our vaccine mandate for students ages 16 and up in place,” the district said in an email to staff and families Tuesday night.
In the statement, the district says vaccinating children 16 and older remains the best way to protect the health and safety of students.
“We are 100-percent determined to maintain the vaccination mandate,” the district said.
District staff members are still subject to the mandate according to the district.
Superior Court Judge John S. Meyer ruled against the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on Monday and granted a writ of mandate to the lawsuit filed by the group “Let Them Choose”, a group who worked to stop the school district’s vaccine mandate.
Religious or personal belief exemptions are not permitted under the district's vaccine mandate. The lawsuit cites the district’s lack of legal authority to impose such a mandate, and Meyer agreed in a tentative ruling. According to Meyer, mandates without exemptions can only be imposed by the state legislature.
According to Meyer, the district would be in conflict with state law if it does not permit religious or personal belief exemptions.
"SDUSD's roadmap appears to be necessary and rational, and the district's desire to protect its students from COVID-19 is commendable. Unfortunately, the field of school vaccine mandates has been fully occupied by the State, and the roadmap directly conflicts with state law," the judge wrote in a tentative ruling.
If the district’s multi-phase approach went into effect, unvaccinated students without medical exemptions would be forced to take part in virtual learning or independent study beginning Jan.24, when the spring semester is slated to begin. According to Myer, independent study programs are to be voluntary.
Meyer said the state currently requires a total of 10 vaccines for children to attend in-person school under Senate Bill No.277, which does not inclide COVID-19. The school district is required to allow students to attend in-person as long as they’ve received the 10 currently state mandated vaccines.
Meyer said that while students are required to receive some vaccinations in order to attend in-person school, adding COVID-19 to the list of required vaccinations without allowing personal belief exemptions is another area that lies only with the state.
Students within the age group were to be fully vaccinated by Dec.20 prior to the tentative ruling for the upcoming semester.
In an email sent to parents on Tuesday, the Board of Education and Interim Superintendent Dr. Lamont Jackson urged all eligible parents and students to "take advantage of the fact that safe and effective vaccines are now available for everyone above the age of 5".
