Klaassen v. The Trustees Of Indiana University

Facts

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Individuals with long-standing systemic health inequities or preexisting or immunocompromising conditions, and elderly individuals prove at greater risk of severe illness or hospitalization following an infection. Young adults are less likely to require hospitalization or die. As vaccination now increases, data gathered by the CDC point toward the waning of new COVID infections across the country. But virulent and highly transmissible variants of this coronavirus present new challenges. D may set conditions and standards for admission that are in the 'best interests of the state and the state educational institution.' Ds may govern 'the conduct of the state educational institution's students, faculty, and employees, wherever the conduct might occur, to prevent unlawful or objectionable acts that . . . violate the reasonable rules and standards of the [university] designed to protect the academic community from . . . a serious threat to person or property of the academic community.' Indiana requires all public university students to be vaccinated for diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, and meningococcal disease before attending school. All but one of these vaccinations have been required since 1993. Outside these state-mandated vaccines, D has had a policy for managing infectious and communicable diseases since at least 2015 designed to take 'reasonable measures to ensure the safety of members of the university community during global and local infectious disease events.' [ Students must report vaccination status, save for religious and medical exemptions, including any 'contraindication to a vaccine.' This reporting occurs according to state law and recommendations from the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Since this pandemic's advent, many states have considered bills that would prohibit either vaccine 'mandates' or vaccine 'passports.' Indiana's General Assembly recently enacted a law that prohibits a vaccine passport, not a vaccine requirement. Today more than 500 colleges and universities have mandated vaccination, though many are private institutions of higher learning, not public universities. The CDC recommends that institutions of higher learning 'can return to full capacity in-person learning, without requiring or recommending masking or physical distancing' only when 'all students, faculty, and staff are fully vaccinated prior to the start of the semester.' The Indiana State Department of Health aligns with the CDC. D decided to require vaccinations. Initially, the policy required all students, faculty, and staff to submit proof of vaccination before returning to campus, but the university revised this requirement after Indiana passed its anti-passport law. The policy today requires all students, faculty, and staff to be fully vaccinated, which the university defines as being two weeks post the second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, or two weeks post the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, before returning to campus between August 1 to August 15 for the fall 2021 semester. If not vaccinated, students are not permitted on campus, their emails and university accounts are suspended, and their access cards are deactivated. Faculty and staff who refuse vaccination face termination. A student may request an exemption for religious reasons; provide proof from a physician of an allergy to the vaccine or one of its component parts (a medical exemption); provide proof from a physician of active pregnancy or breastfeeding, receiving a hematopoietic or solid organ transplant, receiving treatment with Rituximab within the past 3-6 months, or COVID-specific monoclonal antibodies. For those who receive an exemption from vaccination, such students must participate in more frequent mitigation testing, quarantine if exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, wear a mask in public spaces, and return to their permanent address or quarantine if there is a serious outbreak of COVID-19. Both sides have presented evidence from experts. They presented evidence about the severe risks of the vaccines. It was presented that the ongoing safety of these vaccines is rigorously monitored by federal agency professionals. Evidence of herd immunity was presented as well. Ps objected to being forced to be vaccinated to attend school All contend the vaccines are too new to be classified as safe (and boy were their instincts 110% correct). Ps filed a preliminary injunction motion. 

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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