Indiana University students sue over COVID-19 vaccine requirement on campus

Indiana University students are pushing back against the school's fall COVID-19 vaccine requirement. In a lawsuit filed Monday, the students argue the requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment, which reads that no state shall "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."

The eight student plaintiffs are suing the school's board of trustees. The suit also argues the right to reject medical treatment and violation of state law against COVID-19 vaccine passports.

Although Indiana recently banned government-issued COVID-19 vaccine passports, the ban does not apply to universities and colleges.

State Rep. Chris Campbell, a co-author on the vaccine passport ban legislation, told FOX 59 that lawmakers purposefully left colleges out of it.

“I had Purdue look at it because I did have that concern,” Campbell said. “They did not have concerns at that point, so I don’t believe it applies in that case.”

Last month, a group of Republican lawmakers wrote a letter to Indiana University President Michael McRobbie urging him to reconsider and undo the mandate. However, the state attorney general responded with a nonbinding opinion saying public universities are “arms of the state” and therefore, they must abide by the law banning vaccine passports.

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"Following release of the Indiana attorney general’s opinion, our process was revised, with uploading proof of vaccination no longer required," Carney said. "The attorney general’s opinion affirmed our right to require the vaccine."

Indiana University is requiring all students who wish to return to campus in the fall to be fully vaccinated by Aug. 15, according to its website. The university is using a COVID-19 vaccine report form where students can self-report that they are vaccinated and upload a copy of their vaccine card.

If a student does not meet the requirement, they will will see their class registration canceled, their student ID access terminated, access to IU systems terminated, and will not be allowed to participate in any on-campus activity. Faculty and staff will not be employed by the university if they are not vaccinated. The university will not accept working remotely and not getting the COVID-19 vaccine as an option.

"The requirement for all Indiana University students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated before the return to school in August remains in place," Chuck Carney, university spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY. "As part of IU’s response to the ongoing pandemic, the vaccine mandate is helping to support a return to safe and more normal operations this fall."

In the lawsuit, the students argue that as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and the outbreak recedes, vaccinations at the school aren't necessary.

"As the numbers continue to decline, such draconian measures as requiring all students to be vaccinated is not reasonable," the suit reads.

As of Tuesday, more than 5.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses had been given in Indiana. Among Indiana residents ages 20 to 24, 5.6% are fully vaccinated, with only 3.8% of 16-to-19-year-olds in Indiana fully vaccinated.

The suit includes eight student plaintiffs; two are incoming freshmen, two incoming sophomores, one is a senior, one is an incoming first-year law student, one is a student pursuing a master's degree in business administration, and one is a doctoral candidate.

The university has four exceptions to the vaccine requirement: religious beliefs, medical exemptions such as an allergy with documentation, medical deferrals such as someone who is immunocompromised, and if a student is fully online.

Six of the students have received exemptions based on religious beliefs. The other two don't qualify for exemptions, the lawsuit says. Several of the plaintiffs also object to mask requirements and other measures for unvaccinated students.

Despite the protests against the vaccine requirement, Carney said the university is confident it will prevail in the case.

Follow Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Indiana University students sue over COVID vaccine requirement