Attorney General William Tong issued a statement today regarding the Connecticut Supreme Court's decision in Spillane v. Lamont, which partially dismissed a state court challenge to Connecticut’s school vaccine requirements.
The Connecticut Supreme Court granted the State’s motion to dismiss five out of six counts in the case. This intermediate procedural decision leaves school vaccine requirements intact, and the Office of the Attorney General will continue to defend Public Act 21-6.
Connecticut law mandates that students receive certain immunizations before enrolling in school. Prior to 2021, students could apply for medical or religious exemptions. P.A. 21-6 eliminated the religious exemption while allowing students already exempted from kindergarten through grade twelve to retain their status.
“Vaccines save lives, school vaccine requirements remain in effect, and we are very confident in our position. This merely dismisses most aspects of the challenge while allowing plaintiffs to continue to press one remaining part of their case in state court, where we will aggressively defend the state’s necessary and lawful actions to protect public health,” said Attorney General Tong.
Plaintiffs claimed that eliminating the religious exemption violated both the Connecticut and U.S. Constitutions and Connecticut’s Religious Freedom and Restoration Act. The Connecticut Supreme Court rejected all claims under both Constitutions. The Superior Court will further review claims made under Connecticut’s Religious Freedom and Restoration Act on remand.
This case is separate from a federal challenge filed by We the Patriots USA, Inc., which has been largely dismissed by both the District Court and U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their case. Only one part remains active involving a single plaintiff's claim based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Office of the Attorney General is confident that this claim will be dismissed by the District Court on remand.