Long Island Teen Barred From Class Over Faulty Vaccine Exemption
A judge ruled school officials were justified in questioning an exemption signed by a doctor on the state's fraud list.
A 17-year-old senior at Oceanside High School in Long Island has been removed from classes after a judge dismissed her vaccine exemption, which was signed by a doctor listed on the state's vaccine fraud awareness list. The teen will be barred from campus starting Thursday, unable to attend school without the required hepatitis B and meningitis vaccinations for 12th graders.
Eastern District Judge Gary Brown stated in his ruling that "School officials were well within their rights to request further supporting documentation." The student's mother, identified as Jane Doe, had sued the school district in April 2025 after it refused to grant her daughter an exemption from the final dose of the hepatitis B vaccine series and the second dose of the meningococcal vaccine.
The teen, referred to as Sarah Doe, had previously held religious exemptions for vaccinations until 2019, when New York lawmakers eliminated such exemptions following a measles outbreak. To remain in school after the exemption ended, Sarah Doe received 18 vaccine doses in six weeks, which her mother claimed led to "repeated serious medical crises."
Last year, the mother had obtained a court order allowing her daughter to attend her junior year without the final hepatitis B shot, citing a doctor's note about an anaphylactic reaction. However, this year's exemption request, which also included the meningococcal vaccine, was signed by Dr. Carlos Rivera. Rivera is on the state's Vaccine Fraud Awareness list and testified that he had never examined or spoken with the teen before signing the exemption.
The school's doctor, Antwan Haskoor, repeatedly sought more information, including a specific reason why Sarah Doe could not receive the meningitis vaccine. The teen's mother initially claimed to have provided supporting documentation, including lab test results, but later admitted under oath that she had not submitted any additional paperwork requested by the school. Rivera also allegedly claimed that Haskoor had not asked him for follow-up information, a claim contradicted by phone records, emails, and witness testimonies.
Following Haskoor's recommendation to reject the request, the family sought a second exemption from a Dr. Miller, described as an infectious disease specialist. However, Miller did not attend a hearing, failed to respond to the school's inquiries, and submitted a request similar to Rivera's, with lab results that "do not appear to support his exemption request," according to the judge.
Judge Brown also criticized the family's attorneys, Sujata Gibson and Chad Davenport, for a letter sent to school boards and districts after his ruling. The attorneys claimed the ruling meant schools could not question doctor-signed vaccine exemptions and warned of potential lawsuits. Brown characterized the letter as a "gross mischaracterization" of his decision and described the lawyers' actions as "both factually incorrect and professionally inappropriate." The letter was reportedly posted on the website of Children's Health Defense, an organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
It remains unclear whether the teen will now receive the vaccinations to return to school, as her family's attorney did not respond to requests for comment.