An anonymous 16-year-old is forcing the city of San Diego to defend its COVID-19 vaccine mandate before the US Supreme Court — after she filed an emergency petition Friday claiming religious discrimination.
“In stark contrast to Jill’s effective expulsion from her school and sports team, the San Diego Unified School District exempts tens of thousands of Jill’s classmates from the same mandate for secular reasons,” attorney Paul Jonna wrote in his petition.
Associate Justice Elena Kagan, who handles petitions from California and other western states, ordered the school district to respond by Dec. 16.
With a host of vaccine-mandate lawsuits wending their way through state and federal courts, the teen’s challenge could become a major test case.
The student, “Jill Doe,” attends Scripps Ranch High School and has already recovered from COVID-19, her lawyers contend. The student and her parents submitted court documents attesting that they object to the COVID shot for religious reasons.
Justice Elena Kagan ordered the school district to respond by Dec. 16, 2021. AP
Anti-vaccine protesters stage a protest outside of the San Diego Unified School District office to protest a forced vaccination mandate for students on Sept. 28, 2021, in San Diego, California. Sandy Huffaker/Getty ImagesThe district has permitted no religious exemptions to a rule that forces all students over age 16 to get the jab by Dec. 20 — and bars those who refuse from in-person classes and all school activities.
But district officials are granting exemptions and delays to other students, the girl’s lawyers pointed out Friday — including for those claiming migrant status, homelessness and medical needs.
“The District has conditioned irreplaceable benefits and privileges on the surrender of First Amendment rights,” wrote the student’s lawyers, who are attorneys from the conservative Thomas More Society and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
