SANTA MONICA (CNS) - A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former Santa Monica Community College student who alleged the school's 2021 coronavirus vaccine mandate for in-person learning violated his religious freedom and his right to privacy.
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On Nov. 22, Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Lisa K. Sepe-Wiesenfeld granted the college's motion to dismiss the three remaining claims in plaintiff Carter Sparks' case, which sought declaratory relief and alleged violations of equal protection as well as the Education and Government Codes.
The judge heard arguments only on the equal protection cause of action because Sparks' attorney conceded on the other two claims after reviewing her tentative ruling.
Sparks' suit, brought in January 2022, sought court orders declaring that the vaccine mandate was unconstitutional and that it exceeded the district's authority. Sparks also sought injunctive relief preventing the mandate from being enforced, plus compensatory damages.
The suit also named as a defendant Susan Fila, Santa Monica College's health services officer, who Sparks believed was among those who denied his request for a religious exemption.
The plaintiffs' attorneys maintained that although SMCC later rescinded the COVID-19 vaccination requirement policy, it was enforced for a year and could always be reinstated.
But the judge wrote that "because the public health landscape has fundamentally changed since the vaccination policy was put in place ... there is no reasonable expectation that the challenged conduct will recur."
Addressing Sparks' equal protection cause of action, the judge wrote that the plaintiff "fails to allege how he was treated differently from other similarly situated persons, providing only a conclusory statement that he was similarly situated to the other students who sought a religious accommodation."
Sparks also did not describe the nature of the damages he allegedly suffered, nor did he show that Fila did not meet the constitutional test for her decision, the suit states.
The district's Board of Trustees voted on Aug. 3, 2021, to require that students get a COVID-19 vaccine before attending in-person classes during the fall semester.
"The board gave vague reasons for this policy, stating, for example, that the shots represent the best way to slow the spread of COVID-19," the suit stated.
However, only the state Legislature has the power to impose a student vaccine directive and it has not done so, according to the suit. Moreover, forced vaccination policies violate Californians' right to privacy, an express constitutional right that protects an individual's "freedom of bodily integrity," the suit stated.
Sparks, a Catholic, submitted a request for religious and medical exemptions, stating his belief that he has already contracted COVID-19 and thus has natural immunity to the virus while also providing a letter from a doctor, the suit stated.
The college denied Sparks' request, saying it was unsupported by medical evidence, the suit states. The school also rejected Sparks' request for a religious exemption, stating that being Catholic does not entitle someone to a religious exemption and the church has no theological objection to the coronavirus vaccines, according to the suit.
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