Florida AG's threat to Catholic schools 'clear violation' of the First Amendment, law scholar says

A file photo shows students at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., receiving Communion during a Mass and rally for the opening of the school year. (OSV News/Tom Tracy) Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter to the Catholic bishops of Florida demanding that Catholic schools in the Sunshine State adopt religious exemptions to vaccine requirements or risk their ability to participate in the state's school voucher program. But Rick Garnett, a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, told OSV News that the letter "reflects a misunderstanding of Americans' fundamental right to religious freedom and is a glaring and dangerous government overreach." In the letter, dated July 31, Uthmeier argued that Florida law "requires public and private schools to exempt students from the vaccination requirements" if "a parent has a religious objection," demanding that Catholic schools "comply with Florida law and grant religious exemptions to school …