Court halts San Diego district's vaccine mandate for students 16 and older

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the San Diego Unified School District from enforcing a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for staff members and students 16 and older.

The ruling came one day before the school district's deadline for students to get their first doses, reports The Los Angeles Times. 

The 9th Circuit appeals court panel granted an injunction Sunday in the lawsuit brought by a 16-year-old junior, a student at Scripps Ranch High School, who had sued last month, saying the district's vaccination mandate violated her religious beliefs.

"The panel is issuing this order today in an abundance of caution because the plaintiffs have represented, without contradiction from the defendants, that tomorrow, November 29, 2021, is the last date on which students sixteen and over must obtain their first vaccination dose to avoid restriction to independent study beginning in January 2022," the court decision stated.     

The San Diego school board voted in September to mandate that staff and students 16 and older be fully vaccinated against Covid by Dec. 20. Those who don’t comply would be required to attend school remotely.

School board President Richard Barrera has said the district is not offering religious or personal belief exemptions because the district does not want families to abuse such exemptions as a loophole to the mandate. However, the district is granting religious exemptions to its staff because it is required to do so by federal law.