Opt Out 2023: Your Rights, Religious Exemptions, Vaccines, Masks, Testing

Claim your opt-out without going through the health department.  This is your right. End of story.

(Marbury vs. Madison, 1803)

Audio Reading of this Article

Listen to “2023 Opt Out, Vaccines, Masks, Testing” on Spreaker.

Introduction

Removing your kids from the public school system is always the best options, but for those who are still stuck, we present this article.

Similar to the examples we’ve published in the past, we have several new forms/examples you can download for 2023 at the bottom of this article.

These forms are based on various forms which have been used successfully already by parents to opt out, without having to go through the unconstitutionally “mandated” health department process and suffer through their pointless propaganda video that adds justification their bureaucracy.

For educational purposes, I’d like to offer the most value to you as a reader by explaining some recent history on this subject and discussing some principles aimed at helping you understand the forms. When you claim your rights you can then articulate them more effectively. I will also discuss some potential blockers and potential solutions.

Using a document example saves you the busy work of creating most of it, but you should always own the content of the document yourself by understanding every word, and modifying anything you disagree with or want to add. Never use a document example from anywhere for anything that you don’t understand.

Your Rights

If something is a natural right, then it is your right automatically.  God gave you that right. You never need permission to exercise a right. If you needed government permission to opt out of vaccinations, then that would effectively be a government granted “license” to live your life without being vaccinated. As a license is defined as permission to do something that would otherwise be illegal, it is self-evident that does not apply here.

In order to claim a right, such as opting out of school mask or immunization “requirements”…
– You cannot be compelled to watch the health department propaganda videos.
– You cannot be compelled to sign any form they give you, such as where the form says you admit you are harming your child.
– There is no action that can be rightfully forced upon you.

Your rights are your rights… period.

Even though you don’t need permission to exercise your right, it is not unreasonable for you to take action to claim your rights.  Simply letting others know what your position is so that they can act accordingly. This is simply proper communication. By providing the school your form, you are communicating your intention to stand on your rights.

Typical government procedures may assume that you will waive your rights, and if you go along with the process it might be legally assumed that you did not want to invoke your rights.

It used to be simple to claim your opt-out rights

In the past, Utah law specifically allowed you to simply write a parental note.  A very simple claim to let the school know your stance with no hassle. This law was more in line with the constitution and your natural rights than the law is today.

Corruption and trickery in the process

In 2017 I did an in-depth investigation that exposed various pieces of health and education corruption which ended up influencing changes in Utah vaccine law as well as changing how the executive branch enforced it.  I also exposed how the law was being changed by others to lay the foundation for vaccine passports by making it harder to claim your rights without letting the government know that you’re opposed to vaccines. If the government knows you’re opposed through the use of a digital process, then it can be recorded in a database. This was done through the removal of the “note” option to more centralize the records of who was opting out. People would be shocked to know who orchestrated that. By forcing you to go through an online propaganda presentation using your home computer, it is possible that a variety of personal information could be logged about you during that process.

Be clear, that just because they took out the specifically enumerated right to opt out via a parental note, that does not mean you do not still have this right as I explained above.

The Utah and US Constitutions both emphasize the self-evident truth that rights do not have to be spelled out for those rights to still be valid.

As my 2017 investigation showed, schools never informed parents of the simple “note” option (it was never posted anywhere), because the health department wanted you to think you had to sign their form to claim your exemption. Only a parent who read the law directly would ever know this option was written. Additionally, the health department’s form contained a line where the parent admitted they were harming their child. Parents signed by the thousands without thinking about this.  Because of this, the school system ended up with a copy of every parent’s signature that opted out of vaccines, admitting they harmed their child. This was usable as evidence against them in court should CPS/DCFS ever get involved in their lives.

Utah’s deep state pushed back against the movement that Defending Utah started, by actually publishing in the Salt Lake Tribune that parents should be forced to testify against themselves, saying “Make foolish anti-vax parents acknowledge the risk“. A clear violation of the 5th amendment guarantee to not have to ever testify against yourself.

The Tribune published a follow up article stating “Utah lawmakers let parents opt out of vaccinating their kids without having to acknowledge health risks“.

Note that in their article, the Tribune admits exactly what I’ve told you here, that

“Parents need only send a letter to the school stating they are a member of a religion whose teachings don’t align with immunizations — with no further proof required.”

One legislator also admits their real goal is convincing you of the unscientific “fact” that you’re a danger to other people

“It just really negates the work we have done to get parents education about the risk they are putting their children in and the risk to other children”

These days, we can expect that there are many unacceptable things like this hiding inside obnoxious bureaucratic processes. We can see that, as a general principle, it is always wise to claim our rights on our terms, and not on the government’s terms.

You can opt out of anything

A previous state superintendent, was happy to admit this at one meeting when confronted by enough parents.

The law today, and a goofy implementation

The law in it’s current form is found in section 53G-9-S303 of the Utah code.

The section on personal or religious exemptions (those are really the same thing if you think about it) reads as follows:

“A student qualifies for a personal exemption from a vaccination required under Section 53G-9-305 if the student’s legally responsible individual provides to the student’s school a completed vaccination exemption form, stating that the student is exempt from the vaccination because of a personal or religious belief.”

The interesting situation here is that schools have been accepting exemptions without any actual form. Parents are instructed to go online and participate in viewing a government propaganda course.

If you follow these instructions, you will get a certificate at the end for completing the course. This certificate has been the primary means accepted by schools for opting out, which isn’t even a form as the law states is required.

You do not need to go through this process. The law says to provide a form, but is not specific about which form and no government entity seems to be providing a form these days at all.  Parents have reported to us running into dead ends trying to find out where they can pick up this form. As the government does not provide a form, then you can provide your own form and comply with the law. This amounts to effectively writing your own “note”.

If at a future date, they start providing a real form, that will not change the fact that you have a right to use your own form or note.  The important principle is that you communicate effectively and properly state the right you’re claiming and who it applies to (your children) with any optional supporting statements you may choose to include.  It may or may not be reasonable if the school comes back and needs certain things spelled out in your own form, depending on what it is. However, our sample forms have already been used successfully, so I’m not sure what they could bring up that isn’t covered.  Things do change with time though.

Push back you might get

bona fide religion?

An issue that has been common in the past around the country, and at one point it was written in Utah law, was the requirement that in order to claim your religious exemption you had to be a “bona fide” member of a “bona fide” religion.  Meaning, if an actual church you were a member of didn’t publicly state the same exemption belief that you claimed, you could be rejected.  This is clearly flawed as your religious claim can justly be a religion comprised of only yourself. And there’s nothing that says you can’t be part of multiple religious opinions, or have your own religious belief on top of any church you belong to.

In the Journal of Constitutional Law, one court case is described to have ruled as follows:

“In Sherr v. Northport-East Northport Union Free School District, the court ruled that the requirement that parents be “bona fide members of a recognized religious organization’ to be exempt on religious grounds from a school vaccination requirement violates both the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses.”

“You’re Mormon? Oh, too bad for you, you can’t claim a religious exemption.“

Regarding one school district lawyer from Canyons school district, even before the 2020 fake pandemic, it was reported to Defending Utah that they pushed back on LDS religious exemptions with articles showing the church supports vaccines. Even though these articles were not founded in the scriptural doctrine of the LDS church, the school lawyer was emboldened to stand on this observation and instruct the school district not to accept this religious exemption claim. In these cases, appealing to the 5th amendment violation on the exemption form worked to quickly resolve the issue, but as currently (summer of 2022) there’s no forced signature on a state form I’ve seen that violates your 5th amendment right, that won’t apply.

I don’t know if we’re allowed to accept that

This is a “pass the buck” argument.  This is a common political game you get from government bureaucracies as was well documented in my 2017 article, which should not be humored.  However, some school nurses or employees may truly not know what to do when something non-standard comes their way.  Patience and being helpful can go a long way in this case. They may feel the need to call around and ask what to do.  In this situation, it is important you are able to confidently explain what you are doing.  It has also been helpful in the past to educate them that schools absolutely have “local control” and the health departments cannot dictate to the school how they choose to accept exemptions. All Utah schools, both public and private, are fully within their rights to take any exemption claim you give them, in fact they could be legally challenged if they deny you your rights after you’ve clearly claimed them. This was exactly admitted in writing by the director of the Utah Department of Health in 2017, which at the time was included in the 2017 opt-out example we shared with our readers. She stated “it is within the school’s jurisdiction to make the decision”, which was true before I talked with them as much as when she wrote that.

Solutions

Third party backing option:

In response to the “bona fide” religion push back, this health ministry created a program that let’s you download a religious exemption certificate for free. By going through them, you get an exemption for you or your child, signed by a “bona fide” ordained minister of an actual ministry. They will even verify your exemption to the school as a third party, and communicate the expectation of your rights being upheld if the school contacts them. Having the backing of a liberty-friendly ministry organization adds a layer of strength to your claim when people give you a hard time.

Do it on your own option:

• Download 2022 Updated Opt Out Example, modify as desired:
  • Editable Version (docx): Vaccination Exemption Form – Simple.docx

For historical comparison:

In case you want to study, and mix/match your own words.

• 2017 SHORT OPT OUT EXAMPLE: Vaccine-Exemption-Letter-Template-(Short)_5-23-2017.docx (18.32 kb)
• 2017 STANDARD OPT OUT EXAMPLE: Vaccine-Exemption-Letter-Template_5-23-2017.docx (21.43 kb)
• 2020 OPT OUT EXAMPLE: Vaccine Exemption Letter – Education – 8-16-2020 – Template.docx

We will help you!

If you get pushback from an institution where they keep playing games to deny you your rights; having the media call on your behalf asking them why they are violating your rights can go a long way to make them feel accountable to finally do the right thing.

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