In a deeply upsetting turn of events, the Maine school district that expelled a child for being unvaccinated due to his families’ religious beliefs has now threatened that family with truancy charges. It’s becoming a disturbing but familiar pattern of events.
We saw it in our California religious exemption lawsuit, in which the district formerly referred the parents to the county prosecutor on truancy charges after expelling the student from school for being unvaccinated (charges we were fortunately able to get dropped).
We saw it in our Connecticut special education lawsuit, in which we saw the school district threaten to report the parents to the state’s Department of Children and Families for “educational neglect”, after the school kicked the child out of school for being unvaccinated.
And now, in our Maine lawsuit, James Childs is being threatened with criminal truancy charges unless he submits to an alternative education plan for his child, even though his child was forcibly removed from school by the district for being unvaccinated for religious reasons. He is now scrambling to find alternative online schooling, which could cost thousands of dollars.
The Supreme Court has said emphatically that it is unconstitutional for the government to display hostility toward a person’s religious beliefs. It is hard to argue that a school that kicks a child out of school for his religious beliefs, and then tries to criminally charge the parents for the school’s actions, is being anything but hostile to the family’s religious beliefs.
We will of course keep you updated on all of the latest developments in this case. In the meantime, please pray for the Childs family and, if you can, consider making a donation in support of our legal work. We are moving quickly to get this case before the U.S. Supreme Court within the next few weeks, but legal expenses are mounting. We thank you in advance for your generosity!