Superior Court ruling: LAUSD defied state authority via restrictive vaccine policy

Howard Blume at the LA Times offers a glimpse into the recent Los Angeles County Superior Court ruling on the school district’s over-the-top COVID-19 vaccination mandate. The case’s judge cited that only CA state gov’t holds the power to impose stricter rules and eliminate personal belief exemptions.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Tuesday struck down L.A. Unified’s student COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling that the school district exceeded its authority and that the power to require children to be vaccinated to attend school lies with the state.

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“Judge Beckloff’s ruling confirms that individual school districts do not have the authority to impose local vaccination requirements in excess of statewide requirements,” said Arie L. Spangler, a member of the legal team that pursued the case. “We are very pleased with the ruling, as it ensures that no child will be forced out of the classroom due to their COVID-19 vaccination status.”

The ruling — and the litigation — did not address the issue of employee vaccine mandates, and the district’s enforcement of that requirement remains in effect.

Beckloff wrote he had earlier thought that the school district’s student vaccine resolution fell short of a mandate because it affected only the manner of instruction and not the content. Unvaccinated students would have been transferred to online instruction under the policy. But in his ruling, Beckloff said the evidence presented persuaded him otherwise.

This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times. Read the whole thing here.

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