San Diego schools must reply to high court petition on vaccine mandate

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ordered the San Diego Unified School District to respond to an emergency petition by a high school junior and her family, who oppose a mandate requiring her to take a COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend school in person.

The order by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan followed an application for emergency relief filed earlier on Friday by Paul M. Jonna, a partner with LiMandri & Jonna LLP.

The district's response is due Thursday.

A divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 4 denied an injunction to block the district's mandate, which requires students older than 16 to be vaccinated as of Jan. 24 to attend school in person and participate in extracurricular activities such as sports.

Jonna argued in his emergency application the girl has recovered from COVID-19 and has a sincere religious objection to taking the vaccine. He argues the girl, who plays multiple sports, will be denied the opportunity to pursue college scholarships.

The attorney wrote the court "should issue an injunction prohibiting enforcement of the district's mandate against Jill Doe until disposition of a petition for certiorari" or to just grant it. John Doe et al. v. San Diego Unified School District et al., 21A217 (S. Ct filed Dec. 10, 2021).

Jonna argued the district's policy should be assessed under strict scrutiny.

The 9th Circuit three-judge panel majority's unsigned order was written by Circuit Judge Marsha Berzon, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, and Circuit Judge Mark J. Bennett, an appointee of President Donald Trump.

"Appellants have not demonstrated a sufficient likelihood of success in showing that the district court erred in applying rational basis review, as opposed to strict scrutiny, to the student vaccination mandate," they wrote.

9th Circuit Judge Sandra S. Ikuta, an appointee of President George W. Bush, dissented.

She compared the girl's case to a Supreme Court decision in April, which enjoined California from enforcing COVID-19 restrictions on private gatherings as applied to at-home religious exercises in private homes. Tandon v. Newsom, 141 S. Ct. 1294 (2021).