PIEDMONT — With graduation looming and about 98% of Piedmont students vaccinated, the settlement of a lawsuit by two groups against the Piedmont Unified School District over its COVID-19 vaccination mandate is in the rear-view mirror.
The two nonprofit groups, Children’s Health Defense and PERK (Protection of the Education Rights of Kids), and parents identified as Jane Doe and Janet Doe challenged the PUSD’s passage last September of an administrative regulation regarding student vaccines for COVID.
The entire case was unconditionally settled April 27 in Alameda County Superior Court with a judge striking down in its entirety the school district’s mandate for all students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Judge Brad Seligman ruled the district failed to show why its policy should not be struck down. The order came after Seligman granted Children’s Health Defense and PERK’S application for an alternative writ of mandate, which prompted settlement negotiations with the district.
Under the agreement, the district not only repealed the mandate but also agreed not to consider any similar mandates in the future. With the lawsuit looming, the school board had already revised its administrative regulation over immunizations on Jan. 26.
“The decision led to a settlement agreement where the lawsuit was dropped following the board’s decision to revert to its original vaccination policy. We would not say there is a correlation between this decision and our recent rise in COVID cases, as our eligible students were nearly 98% vaccinated at the time,” said Brian Killgore, the PUSD’s communications director.
Rita Barnett-Rose, an attorney for the California chapter of Children’s Health Defense (CHD-CA), said “This is a major victory not only for schoolchildren and families within the district but throughout the state. Without the actions of CHD-CA and PERK, this policy violates students’ right to an in-person education without being forced to take an experimental vaccine.”
When the district reversed its position it stated, “the district believes that students benefit exponentially more from an in-person educational experience than an independent study program. Because of this, and our incredibly high vaccination rates, the superintendent is recommending that the board of education remove COVID-19 from board policy until the California Department of Public Health and the state of California adds it to the list of required immunizations found in the health and safety code.
“At this time, the district finds no educational value in transferring vaccine-hesitant students into an independent study program when we are experiencing a remarkably high vaccination rate across all campuses.”
According to data provided by the district earlier this year, Piedmont’s Beach Elementary School student body was 93.94% vaccinated for COVID-19 with 16 students unvaccinated; Havens Elementary was 95.84% vaccinated with 18 students unvaccinated; Millennium High was 96.43% with two unvaccinated; Piedmont High 99.51% with four unvaccinated; Piedmont Middle 98.2% with students unvaccinated; and Wildwood Elementary was 97.7% vaccinated with six students unvaccinated.
Stepping back to the board’s decision last year to mandate COVID vaccinations, Superintendent Randy Booker’s report of Sept. 14 to the school board stated that “In the interest of public health, proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required of all age-eligible students. All age-eligible students must receive both vaccine doses by no later than Nov. 17, 2021. Unvaccinated students shall be excluded from in-person school and referred to independent study.”
At that time, the school board noted the decision might be subject to a legal challenge, which it was.
The lawsuit was filed Nov. 28 in Alameda County Superior Court by CDH-CA and PERK, alleging Piedmont’s mandate would force students to either get the vaccine or be expelled, as the district provided no remote learning options.
Killgore noted that the school board in response to the legal challenge revised its immunization regulation in January and added that students still need to wear masks when indoors at school. School board President Cory Smegal this week said she had no comment about the lawsuit.
Linda Davis is a longtime Piedmont correspondent. Contact her with news tips or comments at dlinda249@gmail.com.
