AUSTIN – In times of an epidemic, the Texas Administrative Code allows for children who have not been vaccinated for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs, to be excluded from school.
Back in July, Rep. James White asked the Office of the Attorney General to clarify the code, concerned that school districts might attempt to exclude students, “even though no vaccine for COVID-19 exists.”
A vaccine has since been developed since White’s opinion request, and on March Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a response, opining that a court likely would conclude that the exception does not permit exclusion of students who lack vaccinations unrelated to an existing epidemic.
“Further, to the extent a school was to exclude a student who had declined required immunizations unrelated to an existing epidemic due to a sincere religious belief, a court could find this to be a substantial burden on the student’s religious freedom and potentially a violation of the U.S. and Texas constitutions,” the opinion states. “Accordingly, subsection 110.003(a) of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code requires that only the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling government interest may be utilized in placing such a substantial burden.
“If less restrictive means exist to accomplish that objective, a court could find that a specific student’s exclusion in such circumstances from school under Education Code subsection 38.001(f) violates the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”
Opinion No. KP-0359