We were recently contacted by the families of two students newly enrolled in health-related fields at Baylor University in Waco. Both students submitted the appropriate exemption paperwork as required by state law, yet both exemptions were denied. After reaching dead ends with the university, the families reached out to TFVC for help.
Armed with the pertinent statutes establishing the students’ rights to exemptions, TFVC President Rebecca Hardy sent this email to Baylor officials.
In less than a week, Baylor’s legal counsel responded.
The Good News: Baylor acknowledged students’ right to claim exemptions and reaffirmed that the University does not require influenza or COVID-19 vaccination for enrollment. Baylor also updated its handbook to clarify this and the distinction between enrollment requirements and clinical placement requirements.
The Bad News: Baylor has opted for convenience over compliance when it comes to clinical placements, requiring proof of vaccination ahead of enrollment in case available clinical sites might not accept exemptions. Baylor’s legal counsel explained that “asking for a religious exemption during the process of allocation of clinical placements can seriously delay the final determination of a student’s placement and may delay the completion of the program by one or more semesters.”
To be clear, obtaining exemptions at clinical sites may be challenging for healthcare students, but it is not impossible, and universities cannot deny enrollment based on a student’s potential desire to seek an exemption at a future clinical placement. Conflating clinical-site requirements with university enrollment requirements – and using the former to effectively nullify the latter – is an egregious overreach by programs that students are paying to attend.
Ensuring future healthcare providers have the same right to informed consent is TFVC’s top priority for the upcoming 90th Legislative Session.
If you or someone you know has been denied an exemption as a healthcare student or healthcare employee, please reply with your story. Your experience may help inform our legislative efforts to end vaccine-based discrimination.
