It’s Time to Stop Vaccine Mandates for Special Needs Children

One Ongoing New York State Lawsuit Helps Explain Why

By Louis Conte, Health Freedom Editor, The MAHA Report

Across America, some school districts use vaccine mandates as a cudgel to deny special needs students their right to free and worthy public education.

One case in point: the Williamsville Central School District, in Western New York. Attorneys from the Davenport Law firm have brought a case against the district to the New York State Court. They allege that the district removed a sixth grader, who we will call Michael Doe, from the Mill Middle School, under the claim that he is not fully vaccinated.

An ironic aspect of the case is that Michael Doe complied with vaccine mandates but his current health condition, which includes Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, can involve anaphylaxis, placing him at risk if he receives more vaccines.

Michael Doe received six doses of DTaP, a childhood vaccine that protects against three bacterial diseases, but one of the boosters was from a vaccine container past its expiration date. While Michael received the required number of doses, the district claimed that he is not fully vaccinated because one of the previous doses was retroactively deemed “expired.”

The Williamsville Central School District’s medical director, who is a nurse practitioner not a medical doctor, notified school administrators that she regarded Michael Doe not fully vaccinated, insisting he receive another booster.

When the family questioned the medical director’s reasoning, school administrators barred the child from school, effective in early November of 2025.

Two recent federal court decisions – Sarah Doe v. Oceanside Union Free School District and A.A.C. v. Starpoint Central School District – directed New York State to respect medical exemptions from vaccine requirements so long as they were issued by licensed physicians.

Michael Doe obtained such an exemption from his treating physician.

Michael Doe also had what is referred to as a 504 Accommodations plan, which allows students with special needs to receive accommodations to better facilitate their educational needs.

“The medical director rolled her eyes at my clients when they discussed Michael’s health concerns,” according to attorney Chad Davenport, who spoke to The MAHA Report.

Davenport continued, “His treating physician certified that administering another dose of this vaccine may be detrimental to his health due to these specific vulnerabilities.” According to Davenport, a medical exemption is not easily acquired in New York State. “The doctor who issued it could be putting his career on the line,” he said.

The Williamsville Central School District determined that the medical exemption needed to be scrutinized and started making excessive demands on Michael Doe’s family – to acquire private health information.

Last October, Doe’s attorneys filed a Commissioner’s Appeal with the New York State Education Department, in an effort to resolve the case without formal legal action. However, the NYSED denied the request for an immediate stay order.

“They have not yet issued a final decision on the merits,” Davenport said. “Effectively, state education responded to the emergency request by saying ‘no,’ which is why we had to go to court.” Davenport added, “We know, from past experience, that the [NY] State Education Department often releases decisions in March. Even if the ruling went in our favor, my client would be out of school for most of the school year.”

Michael Doe has already missed three months of school.

In December, the student’s attorneys brought an action against the Williamsville school district in the New York State Supreme Court in Erie County. On January 16, the Honorable Joseph C. Lorigo ruled that the medical exemption was valid and the district’s decision to keep Michael out of school “was arbitrary and capricious.”

One would think that this means Michael can return to school next week. However, the attorneys for the school district said they plan to file a notice of appeal in open court immediately after the ruling, signaling a willingness to continue to bar the child from school.

As of this writing, the Williamsville district has agreed to allow Michael back in school next week but has threatened to remove him again as the school district appeal proceeds.

According to Davenport, one of the issues surfacing during the proceedings has been threats made by the New York State Department of Health. District officials claim the NYSDOH annually audits school districts, threatening them with $2,000-a-day fines for every child with a medical exemption from vaccines they deem insufficient.

Under questioning from Judge Lorigo, the Williamsville district’s attorney admitted that his region has never actually been fined by the DOH, nor have they received a specific threat regarding this student or any other. The district was relying on a generalized fear of NYSDOH fines to justify their actions.

The NYS government has a history of attacking students with vaccine exemptions, including those with special needs.

In 2019, New York State passed a law, under Governor Andrew Cuomo, which ended all religious exemptions from vaccine mandates in public schools. This barred thousands of students, many with special needs, from attending the state’s public schools.

Why do this? NYS officials claimed they made the legal change due to a measles “outbreak.”

I was serving as a school board trustee at that time and there were whispers around Albany that there was another reason Governor Cuomo wanted the law passed: to limit ever increasing special education costs.

That attitude remains under the current Governor, Kathy Hochul, who has signaled in her recent State of the State address that New York will insist on imposing the old vaccine schedule which requires seventeen mandatory vaccines.

On January 5, the CDC issued an updated recommended vaccine schedule which recommends eleven vaccines.

It appears that New York State, and some heavy-handed NYS school districts, will continue to impose burdensome vaccine mandates on special needs children, even if doing so violates their rights to an education.