Supreme Court Vacates Ruling That Upheld New York School Vaccine Mandate

The justices directed the appeals court to reconsider its ruling in light of Mahmoud v. Taylor, a Supreme Court ruling in June.

A health care worker in New York prepares a vaccine, in this file photograph. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The Supreme Court on Dec. 8 vacated a ruling upholding New York’s ban on religious exemptions to its school vaccine mandate and ordered a lower court to review its stance on the ban. The case is known as Miller v. McDonald.

Justices vacated the March decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which had found the legislation banning religious exemptions to vaccination requirements was “neutral on its face” and did not “target or affirmatively prohibit religious practices.”