Preliminary Injunction granted but will allow matter to proceed
Federal District Court judge Steven Logan issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday, November 8 against Maricopa Community Colleges that will prevent them from enforcing the vaccine requirements for two nursing students who had sued the colleges. The students claimed the community college district is violating their free exercise of religion by not helping them complete their clinical rotations required for graduation. The students have declined to get vaccinated for religious reasons, and their rotations were scheduled at partner sites that require vaccination.
In a November 8, 2021 article by Alison Steinbach in the Arizona Republic, it was reported that for now the district has to accommodate the students so they can fulfill the clinical parts of their coursework and graduate from the Mesa Community College nursing program as scheduled in December.
The district argued in court that it couldn’t easily switch the students or accommodate virtual simulated clinical shifts. The district may appeal the ruling.
The judge’s order just answers the students’ request for emergency relief, said Colleen Auer, the students’ attorney. But it largely addresses the broader complaint, too, since all that needed to be resolved for the students to graduate on time was the issue of the upcoming in-person clinicals, she said.