WA State AG Opinion Vax Laws 1979

8/2/2019 WA State AG Opinion Vax Laws 1979

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DISTRICTS - SCHOOLS - HEALTH - IMMUNIZATION - CONSTITUTIONALITYOF IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENT FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Certain proposed legislation now pending before the state legislature (see Senate Bill No. 2241and House Bill No. 502) to require specified immunizations of school age children as a

prerequisite for admission to public or private schools would, if enacted as drafted, beconstitutionally valid.

Honorable Hubert F. DonohueChairmanSenate Committee on Ways and Means

103 Public Lands BuildingOlympia, Washington 98504

Dear Sir:

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5/3/2011http://www.atg.wa.gov/AGOOpinions/opinion.aspx?section=archive&id=7362


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In addition, 5 provides that:




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Those are matters of legislative judgment with which the courts will not interfere unless it can be said that they are arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable.




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These two constitutional provisions, although somewhat differently worded, have beenconsistently construed to have the same basic meaning;




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At least in broad outline, the limitations that our state constitution thus expressly place on theright to free exercise of religion have been read into the First Amendment by the SupremeCourt.




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"The legislature shall provide for a general and uniform system of public schools.

Yours very truly,

SLADE GORTONAttorney General




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BRIAN J. COYNEAssistant Attorney General

1/Senate Bill No. 2241, and its identical counterpart, House Bill No. 502.

2/To fall within the ambit of the due process clause, children excluded from school for lack of certification of the required immunizations

3/

Shea v. Olson, 185 Wash. 143, 153, 53 P.2d 615, 111 A.L.R. 998,

4/197 U.S. at 25, 23 S.Ct. at 360-61, 49 L.Ed. at 648-49.

5/419 U.S. at 576, 95 S.Ct. at 735, 42 L.Ed.2d at 736.


7/


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9/In

10/As stated by the court in

11/The compulsory school attendance law, RCW 28A.27, [[chapter 28A.27 RCW]]should present no due process problem either.

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WA State AG Opinion Vax Laws 1979

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