Judge denies request to let unvaccinated students return to class

Gabriel Rom, Rockland/Westchester Journal News Published 1:46 p.m. ET March 12, 2019 | Updated 5:15 p.m. ET March 12, 2019

A federal judge today denied issuing a temporary injunction that would have allowed 44 unvaccinated children to go back to class at the Green Meadow Waldorf School, citing Rockland County's "unprecedented measles outbreak."

"The plaintiffs have not demonstrated that public interest weighs in favor of granting an injunction," U.S. District Court Judge Vincent Briccetti said in federal court in White Plains.

After the ruling, many parents in the court room embraced.

"Preventing my child from being with his class, his teacher, his classroom, has had a significant social and psychological impact," said a parent of a 4-year old preschooler who declined to give her name. "He is confused, given his young age, about why he isn't allowed on his campus," she said, her voice wavering.

The judge's ruling came during a court appearance by the lawyer for parents representing 44 students at the Chestnut Ridge school who have filed a lawsuit against the Rockland Health Department and its commissioner challenging an order barring the unvaccinated children from school.

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