Some question whether state universities may require its students to receive COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of attendance. One significant answer came today: Yes. Three federal appeals court judges who sit in Chicago considered whether Indiana University could require its students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 (unless they received a religious or medical exemption; exempt students are required to wear masks and be tested frequently). In concluding that Indiana University did not appear to violate the constitutional rights of its students, three judges weighed a state’s power to require vaccinations.
First, they reviewed a more than one hundred-year-old case from the United States Supreme Court, Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905). There, the Supreme Court concluded that Massachusetts could require all adults to be vaccinated against smallpox. In so doing, the Supreme Court upheld a criminal conviction for someone who refused to be vaccinated. And there, no religious or medical exceptions were permitted.
A federal appeals court today found that under the law decided in Jacobson, that makes Indiana University’s vaccine policy plainly constitutional. Unlike the Massachusetts law, it found that this policy only applies to students wishing to attend this particular university, contains medical and religious exceptions, and does not seek to criminalize anything. This court concluded by observing that “[i]f conditions of higher education may include surrendering property [tuition] and following instructions about what to read and write [class assignments], it is hard to see a greater problem with medical conditions that help all students remain safe while learning.” Ryan Klaassen, v. Trustees of Indiana University, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit (Case No. 21-2326, August 2, 2021).
Of the three judges making this decision, one was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, while the other two judges were appointed by President Donald Trump. One of these judges, Judge Thomas Kirsch, filled the seat previously held by Justice Amy Coney Barret.