Lawsuit filed against Attorney General to challenge California SB 277, which restricts religious exemptions for childhood vaccinations.
In October 2023, Advocates for Faith & Freedom filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of California Senate Bill 277 (SB 277), which eliminated all personal and religious exemptions from the state’s mandatory vaccination requirements for K–12 school attendance. The plaintiffs—four California mothers—argue that SB 277 violates their First Amendment right to raise their children in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs. For families of faith, this law effectively bars their children from both public and private education in the state.
After a federal judge dismissed the case, Advocates immediately appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Despite allowing exemptions for secular reasons such as age or learning accommodations, the law provides no consideration for religious convictions—creating a dangerous double standard. As Advocates President Robert Tyler stated, “This is about more than vaccines. It’s about the future of religious liberty and parental rights in America.”
Press Release | Federal Court Dismisses Parental Rights Lawsuit — Advocates For Faith & Freedom Appeals California Vaccine Mandate To Ninth Circuit
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
CONTACT: nicole velasco @
media@faith-freedom.COM
Murrieta, CA – Today, Advocates for Faith and Freedom appealed a United States District Court for the Southern District of California’s decision granting the State of California’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 277 (SB 277), the 2016 law that eliminated all personal and religious belief exemptions from California’s state law which requires 17 vaccinations for K-12 school attendance.[1] Despite the district court's decision to dismiss the case, Advocates for Faith & Freedom is appealing to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to protect religious liberty and parental rights in education.
The plaintiffs in the case, four California mothers, brought this challenge to SB 277 on the grounds that the law violates their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion and to live out and remain faithful to their sincerely held religious beliefs by raising their children in accordance with their family’s shared faith. For families who object to vaccinations on religious grounds, California law effectively bans their children from attending both public and private schools in California.
“This law targets families of faith by denying them the basic right to make medical and educational decisions. The law takes the drastic step of banning children from the schoolhouse due to their sincerely held religious beliefs and those of their families. Yet, the law makes numerous exemptions for non-religious reasons such as the student’s age, need for specialized learning accommodations, availability of vaccination records, etc. The parents we represent think remaining true to their faith is at least as important as the numerous non-faith based categories that California already exempts,” said Robert Tyler, President of Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “We are appealing because California cannot simply erase the Constitution when it becomes politically inconvenient. This is about more than vaccines,” Mr. Tyler added. “It’s about the future of religious liberty and parental rights in America.”
In its ruling, the district court held that SB 277 is a “neutral and generally applicable” law, even though it permits secular exemptions for a number of secular reasons while offering no accommodation for religious beliefs. This double standard sets a dangerous precedent, tipping the scales of power from parents to the State in matters of personal belief and family life.
“At the heart of this case is a simple truth: parents, not the State, are the rightful stewards of their children’s wellbeing,” said Advocates attorney Julianne Fleischer. “We cannot remain silent while the government tramples the constitutional rights of Christian families whose only ‘offense’ is raising their children according to their faith.”
[1] https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/Immunization/IMM-231.pdf
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Press Release | Advocates for Faith and Freedom Announce Lawsuit Challenging Religious Exemption Restriction for Vaccines
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, October 31, 2023
CONTACT: nicole velasco @
media@faith-freedom.COM
Murrieta, CA – On October 31, 2023, a lawsuit was filed by Advocates for Faith and Freedom to challenge California SB 277, which restricts religious exemptions for childhood vaccinations. Their lawsuit alleges this legislation violates the constitutional rights of parents to make medical decisions for their children. Advocates for Faith and Freedom is challenging the constitutionality of this legislation, seeking to restore the ability for parents and students to lodge a religious objection for those with sincerely held beliefs. It is likely this matter will ultimately be required to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.
California Senate Bill 277 (SB277) eliminated nonmedical exemptions from state-mandated immunizations for children entering public or private schools. The bill applies to children enrolled in private or public elementary or secondary schools, daycare centers, and public or private daycares and preschools. SB 277 was signed by Governor Jerry Brown in June 2015 and became effective on January 1, 2016. California was the first state in nearly 35 years to take this step.
"People of faith should never be discriminated against through legislation,” said Mariah Gondeiro, Vice President and legal counsel for Advocates for Faith and Freedom. “We are standing up for parents of all faith backgrounds who want access to a quality education and medical autonomy over their children.”
“Medical autonomy and quality education are not mutually exclusive, and the government should not mandate parents choose one over the other,” says Robert Tyler, President of Advocates for Faith and Freedom.
Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.
EMAIL INFO@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM TO RECEIVE PRESS RELEASES. ALSO, JOIN US ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER TO STAY UP-TO-DATE ON OUR PROGRESS IN THIS CASE AND OTHERS.
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Tiffany Brown and Family
About Advocates for Faith & Freedom (www.faith-freedom.com): Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts.
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