Montgomery County schools administrator drops COVID-19 vaccine mandate lawsuit

A Montgomery County Public Schools administrator has dropped his lawsuit over the system’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees after receiving a religious exemption, according to the latest filing in the case.

The administrator filed a stipulation of dismissal Friday in U.S. District Court in Maryland.

An attorney for the anonymous employee said Monday that further litigation was not necessary because the employee, identified in court documents as “John Doe,” received the religious exemption he sought after bringing the lawsuit.

Doe, according to the complaint, is a Christian who “holds the sincere belief that obtaining a COVID-19 vaccination would conflict with the edicts of his religion and, therefore, that obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine would constitute a sin in the eyes of God.”..

...Josh Dixon, an attorney who represented Doe in the lawsuit, said the school system “changed its position to allow religious exemptions” in response to the lawsuit.

“Based on MCPS’s reversal of its prior positions, we determined that further litigation was not necessary,” said Dixon, who serves as senior litigation counsel for the Pittsburgh-based Center for American Liberty.

A spokesperson for MCPS did not immediately reply to an email requesting comment Monday.

The deadline for employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and report their vaccine status is now Nov. 15.

Instead of receiving a vaccine, Doe will be required to receive weekly COVID-19 testing and follow other health measures, according to court filings. He works in an administrative building, according to the complaint, and rarely interacts with students...

https://thedailyrecord.com/2021/11/01/montgomery-county-schools-administrator-drops-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-lawsuit/