School Dashboard
AUGUST 2025 | VOLUME 3 | NUMBER 7
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
– Micah 6:8
Welcome to the August edition of the ACCS Legal Update! As you prepare to head back to school, I pray your summer break has proved refreshing.
In this edition, we will take brief looks at two important issues.
The first involves new developments in a ten-year-old case out of Florida, involving two Christian schools and public prayer. The second regards recent declarations from the American Academy of Pediatrics on the need to eliminate all non-medical exemptions for vaccinations, regardless of religious or parental necessities.
Cambridge Christian School, Inc. v. Florida High School Athletic Assn
In 2015, Cambridge Christian School and University Christian School prepared to battle for the 2A Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) state football championship. The game was to be held at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, which only served to add to the excitement of both teams, their coaches, and school communities.
As preparations were being made, Cambridge sought permission to use the Citrus Bowl sound system for their customary pre-game prayer (a tradition shared by both teams). The FHSAA rejected their request, stating that using the loud speaker “could be viewed as an endorsement of religion since the prayer would be given using government-owned equipment” since the Citrus Bowl is owned and operated by the City of Orlando.
When initial appeals were filed by to the FHSAA without resolution, Cambridge Christian School took the matter to a district magistrate, who also determined that the two Christian schools should not be allowed to pray over the loudspeaker. This led Cambridge’s attorneys to file an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
After being told their case had merit by the Court of Appeals in November 2019, Cambridge suffered another legal setback when the “U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued a decision affirming the FHSAA rule prohibiting the two Christian schools from praying over the loudspeaker.”
Then, following more appeals and back-and-forth decisions in 2022 and 2024, Cambridge attorneys asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case (June 2025).
The rulings in this case have, thus far, been based upon precedent established in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000), which also held that private prayer over a stadium loudspeaker could be deemed government speech. Stay tuned for what this means.
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Doubles Down
In case you were tempted to think that vaccine requirements were merely a COVID-related controversy, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently stepped up to bring them back into view. Just a few weeks ago, on July 28th, Dr. Jesse Hackell issued a statement on the AAP website calling for the removal of all non-medical school vaccine exemptions in all 50 states and all U.S. territories, including the District of Columbia.
These non-medical exemptions would include those requested due to religious, philosophical, or parental concerns, which means even private schools would likely be driven to comply, should the AAP have their way.
Dr. Hackell’s statement, while paying lip service to parental authority and religious expression, makes it clear that neither of those matter to the AAP. He writes that the AAP’s immunization requirements include “the concept that parents generally have great autonomy in making medical decisions for their children. Exercise of this autonomy, however, requires that it be used solely for the benefit of the children.”
Not only is it interesting that parental authority is a “concept” to them, but equally significant is that the AAP seems convinced that it is they – not parents – who can accurately determine what is “for the benefit of children.”
Regarding religious exemptions, Dr. Hackell notes, “the variety and richness of individual beliefs make interpretation of any request for a ‘religious’ exemption extremely complex…The policy does not support requiring anyone to be immunized against their beliefs. Rather, immunization may be required as a condition of school or child care attendance (in the absence of a medical indication for exemption) to benefit the community and public health.”
To put it simply, if you have personal or religious beliefs which would prevent your children from being vaccinated according to the AAP’s prescribed schedule, then your children should not be permitted to attend school or be admitted to child care centers.
Now What?
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Cambridge Christian School, Inc. v. Florida High School Athletic Assn, a case inextricably tied to Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000), reminds us of the blessing and curse of precedent-based law. In some cases, established legal precedent acts as a deterrent to judges, lawyers, or legislators who might attempt legal novelty. Yet, in other cases, seemingly obvious mistakes made in previous cases are slow to be corrected because those same cases have created legal precedent.
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Additionally, the Cambridge case represents what could pose real threats to religious speech. In the wrong hands, the precedent of Santa Fe v. Doe (2000) could be extended beyond the use of loudspeakers. If a sound system is off limits to prayer and other religious speech or expression, what about sidewalks, street corners, and town halls? Why would the precedent stop with sound equipment?
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While the AAP’s statement on removing non-medical vaccine exemptions does not represent a formal legal challenge or lawsuit at this point, their statement is precisely the type of authority appealed to by those who wish to make such stances the law of the land. School leaders and parents should remain aware of these developments, particularly if such a lawsuit should arise to challenge the validity of non-medical exemptions.
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Further, headmasters and board members should thoroughly discuss their specific school policies regarding vaccination requirements and how they might serve families with varying convictions on the matter.
Grace & Peace,
Brian Phillips, Ed.D.
Brian Phillips is the pastor of Holy Trinity Reformed Church (CREC – Concord, NC) and teaches History & Literature at Scholé Academy and Oaks Classical Christian Academy (Albemarle, NC). He served as the Director of Consulting for The Circe Institute, Head of Upper School at Covenant Classical School (Concord, NC), and was an adjunct faculty member of Belmont Abbey College.
Dr. Phillips has an M.A. in Theological Studies, an M.A. in Classical Studies, an Ed.D. in Classical Education, and completed paralegal training at Duke University. He is also the author/editor of several books, including Sunday Mornings: An Introduction to Biblical Worship, Tales of Wonder (Vol. I & II) and the Canon Classics Guides to Dante’s Inferno and the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Brian and his wife, Shannon, live in North Carolina with their four children and their German Shepherd, Ajax the Great.