California Elimination of Personal Belief Exemption From Vaccination Requirements Upheld

In Brown v. Smith, (Cal. App., July 2, 2018), a California appellate court rejected a challenge to a 2015 California legislative change that eliminated the personal beliefs exemption from the requirement that children receive vaccines for certain infectious diseases before being admitted to any public or private school. The court rejected a challenge under the state constitution's free exercise clause, finding that the state has a compelling interest in preventing the spread of communicable diseases. The court also rejected other state constitutional and statutory challenges. (See prior related posting.)