Litigating Alternative Facts: School Mandates in the Courts

Dorit Rubinstein Reiss
2018 Social Science Research Network  
In June 2015, California's governor signed into law SB277, which removed the personal belief exemption to school immunization requirements, making medical exemptions the only valid way to send an unvaccinated child in the affected categories to school. Naturally, vaccine-hesitant parents opposed the legislation. After their efforts failed in the legislature, they turned to the courts, raising arguments old and new. To date, opponents have filed five lawsuits against the new California law, all
more » ... f which have failed. This Article explains why courts in the United States, which have consistently upheld school immunization requirements, are correct to do so. These requirements are supported by strong policy reasons and serve a compelling interest, since they dramatically reduce the risk of outbreaks of potentially deadly diseases. These mandates fit with our basic principles of state police power, reasonable limits on individual rights, and protecting children. They are also supported by over a hundred years of jurisprudence. Using the opponents' arguments to identify the strongest claims against SB277, the Article explains why those arguments-including claims based in the First Amendment, in parental rights, and in the right to education-cannot stand.
doi:10.2139/ssrn.3119970 fatcat:2adrcoyy4rcmrhuwsgw2uorngm