Today,September 06,2002 the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued a stay of the recent decisions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in the case involving student immunizations. Both the Eastern and Western District Courts have ruled that the religious exemption from immunization in Arkansas law is unconstitutional. Those decisions have been appealed to the 8th Circuit. Both decisions have been stayed pending appeal. The effect of the stay is that students properly claiming the religious exemption under Arkansas law may be allowed to attend school until such time as the appeal is decided.
Questions about the change in immunization requirements or requests for additional information may be directed to Scott Smith or Ken Williams at 501-682-4227.