579 F.Supp.3d 290
D. Conn.2022Background
- Connecticut Public Act No. 21-6 eliminated the ability to obtain new religious exemptions from state school vaccination requirements (preserving existing K–12 religious exemptions for students enrolled before April 28, 2021).
- Plaintiffs: two associational plaintiffs (We the Patriots USA, Inc.; CT Freedom Alliance, LLC) and three individual parents who allege religious objections to vaccines and seek injunction/declaratory relief.
- Defendants: three state agencies (Office of Early Childhood Development; State Dept. of Education; Dept. of Public Health) and three local school boards.
- Causes asserted: Free Exercise, privacy/medical freedom, Equal Protection, parental (childrearing) rights, and IDEA.
- Defendants moved to dismiss on Eleventh Amendment, standing, and merits grounds; the court granted dismissal: (1) Counts 1–4 against state agencies dismissed for Eleventh Amendment immunity; (2) associational plaintiffs’ Counts 1–5 dismissed for lack of associational standing; (3) all individual counts dismissed for failure to state claims.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eleventh Amendment immunity (state agencies) | Agencies are proper defendants; Plaintiffs sought relief against them | State agencies are "arms of the state" entitled to Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity; no waiver or abrogation | Dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction; Eleventh Amendment protects state agencies |
| Associational standing (WTP, Alliance) | Associations represent many affected Connecticut parents; implied that named individuals are members | Associations failed to identify an actual member with concrete injury; pleading insufficient | Associations lack associational standing; Counts 1–5 by them dismissed |
| Free Exercise (elimination of new religious exemptions) | Removing religious exemptions burdens sincere religious practice and must meet strict scrutiny | Mandatory school vaccination upheld by precedent (Jacobson, Phillips); PA 21-6 is neutral, generally applicable, and rationally related to public health | Free Exercise claim dismissed: precedent forecloses relief and statute survives rational-basis review |
| Privacy / medical freedom & parental rights | Parents have fundamental right to refuse medical treatment for children and direct upbringing | No constitutional right to decline vaccinations that conflict with public-health laws; parental claim is coextensive with Free Exercise | Claims dismissed: no overriding Fourteenth Amendment privacy/freedom to refuse vaccines; parental claim fails as it rests on dismissed Free Exercise claim |
| Equal Protection (treatment of medical vs religious exemptions; age classes) | PA 21-6 irrationally treats similarly situated children and creates unjust age-based classes | Classification is rationally related to legitimate public-health objectives (protecting children, preserving community immunity) | Dismissed for failure to plead irrationality; rational-basis review applies |
| IDEA (disability claim) | Plaintiff Elidrissi’s child receives special services and thus qualifies under IDEA | Complaint does not allege the child requires "special education" (as opposed to only related services) | Dismissed: insufficient factual pleading that the child is a "child with a disability" entitled to IDEA relief |
Key Cases Cited
- Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (U.S. 1905) (upholding state authority to impose compulsory vaccination under police power)
- Zucht v. King, 260 U.S. 174 (U.S. 1922) (sustaining school vaccination requirement against constitutional challenge)
- Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158 (U.S. 1944) (parental authority does not include right to refuse compulsory vaccination for children)
- Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (U.S. 1990) (neutral, generally applicable laws need only rational-basis review even if they incidentally burden religion)
- Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520 (U.S. 1993) (laws targeting religiously motivated conduct are subject to strict scrutiny)
- Phillips v. City of New York, 775 F.3d 538 (2d Cir. 2015) (mandatory school vaccination as condition of attendance does not violate Free Exercise Clause)
- We the Patriots USA, Inc. v. Hochul, 17 F.4th 266 (2d Cir. 2021) (reaffirming that Jacobson and Phillips remain binding on vaccine-mandate challenges)
- Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, 141 S. Ct. 1868 (U.S. 2021) (a law invites strict scrutiny when it allows individualized exemptions that enable discretionary religious discrimination)
- Tandon v. Newsom, 141 S. Ct. 1294 (U.S. 2021) (comparable secular activities must be judged against the government interest and risk posed)