Beach schools sued over athlete vaccine mandate
VIRGINIA BEACH — A Virginia Beach lawyer is suing the city’s public school district to halt a vaccine requirement the division announced in September.
In a complaint filed Tuesday in Virginia Beach Circuit Court, Jason Swango asked the court to grant a temporary injunction that would halt enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for athletes. The lawsuit claims the mandate was not intended to curb transmission of the virus and school officials did not have authority to implement the policy.
Swango, who is the president and CEO of the Virginia Beach-based Firm For Men, filed the complaint on behalf of his children who participate in the city’s high school sports teams.
“These authoritative bodies have issued this mandate without parental consultation, without parental comment, without the ability of parents to object,” Palmer Hurst, Swango’s attorney and an associate lawyer at his firm, said Thursday.
The lawsuit claims the policy is “designed to force a vaccine on student-athletes or create an undue hardship on student-athletes who, along with their parents, decide to avoid a vaccine currently authorized an on emergency use basis . ... ”
Because the dispute is under litigation, the school division’s legal counsel declined to comment.
Sondra Woodward, the division’s spokesperson, said in an email Thursday the school system put the testing protocol in place to keep athletes “safe, in school and out of quarantine.”
Vaccination is one of many mitigation strategies public health experts suggest to prevent spreading the virus in schools. On Sept. 28, Virginia Beach public schools announced it would require athletes to receive a vaccine by Nov. 8. Those who do not provide proof of vaccination, or record of previous infection in the last 90 days, must undergo weekly testing in order to participate in sports.
The move to require vaccines came after school officials reviewed data from the first few weeks of school. Officials said athletes are more exposed to the virus than non-student-athletes. The School Board did not vote on the policy, but has allowed Superintendent Aaron Spence to continue with the testing protocol after presenting procedural information at three regular meetings, Woodward said.
The lawsuit goes on to say Spence did not have the authority to make a decision about a mandate because he has been “conducting other business” with a higher education consulting group, EduNavigate Leadership Consultants, that was never authorized by the district. The complaint points to state law which says any superintendent’s position should be considered “vacant upon his engaging in any other business or employment during his term of office” upon school board approval.
Hurst declined to comment when asked about claims against Spence.
Virginia Beach school officials said Spence owns the consulting group and the school board cleared the “outside business” he does through EduNavigate.
“The box that this policy has put parents in Virginia Beach in is if your child would like to continue to do something, then they must do this additional step that you did not have any knowledge of or hand in prior to the school year,” Hurst said.
A motion to grant the temporary injunction was filed Wednesday; Hurst said a hearing has not been set.