Before I get into the topic of today's newsletter, I'd like to express my deep appreciation to all my supporting readers who've stood by me while I go through a transition phase with my independent journalism. I know I haven't been writing much this year, which is because I've had to take a break from that aspect of my work to focus on building a a new model for journalism that will enable me to better serve my readers while ensuring I can remain totally independent. I've
also been taking care of numerous other priorities, one of which was my
family's decision that it would be best now for our son, who has always
been homeschooled, to go to a public middle school. Which brings me to the topic of this email. The whole time we've been homeschooling, we were under the impression that there was some law here in Michigan requiring students to either be fully vaccinated or to go to the health department to attend an "education" session and sign a certified "waiver" form.. As it turns out, this "waiver" process is not a requirement of Michigan law. Yet parents all throughout the state are being lied to by schools that the law requires them to do this. As I learned from the fantastic organization Michigan for Vaccine Choice (MVC), this supposed "requirement" comes instead from an administrative rule from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). As an executive agency, of course, MDHHS has no lawmaking authority. And the way this rule has been interpreted not only assumes otherwise but is also contrary to the plain language of Michigan law. The
Revised School Code (MCL 380.1177) explicitly states that to exempt a
child from the vaccination requirements, it is sufficient for a parent
to submit a signed statement expressing a religious or other objection. The Public Health Code MCL 380.1177 and MCL 333.9215 reiterate the same thing: the requirement is met when the parent presents the school administrator with a written exemption statement. There is no provision of the law that enables a school to reject a parent's written exemption statement—yet that is precisely what happened to my family. I
presented our exemption statement directly to the district
superintendent, along with a cover letter explaining the issue,
printouts of the relevant excerpts of the law clearly stating that the
requirement for school enrollment is fulfilled by submitting our
statement, three legal analyses from different attorneys, and a
memorandum from the medical director of the St. Clair County health
department (downstate from us) about how the administrative rule is
being used to discriminate and unlawfully deny students school
admission. The superintendent's written response was to simply reiterate the lie that Michigan law requires us to obtain a "proper" exemption from the health department. Now,
one option for us would be to just undergo the humiliation of an
"education" session and signing a waiver basically admitting to being
irresponsible parents who are putting our own son and others at risk. That would be the easy path. But I am not in the habit of choosing what's easy over what's right. Instead, I've decided to fight, fight, fight! I do not intend to let the school get away with this unlawful discrimination. In
effect, the MDHHS has claimed lawmaking authority and has deputized
schools to enforce is extra-legal "requirement" despite this directly
contradicting the plain language of the law. So, I have teamed up with MVC and another dad downstate facing the same situation, and we are coordinating our efforts to fight back. We aim to organize and get other parents on board while seeking a law firm with sufficient courage to take this on. Our
case is solid. I've written a legal memorandum detailing how our
exemption statement satisfies the requirements of Michigan law, and how
the school's denial of it is illegal. To all parents in Michigan on my mailing list: If you would like to join this effort, regardless of how or to what extent, please reply to this email and let me know. l'll
send you my memo so you can clearly understand the legal ramifications,
and I'll get you networked into our effort. Join us and fight! I'm
not just doing this for myself. I'm doing it for every parent in the
state who exercises their right to informed choice and wishes for their
child to receive a public education. More than that, what happens at the state level is important for affecting change at the federal level. As parents in more states revolt against violations of the right to informed consent and systematic discrimination against unvaccinated children, it will send a message to the criminal organization in Washington to also cease and desist. We cannot expect or wait for top-down solutions.
The grassroots health freedom movement is not about voting once every
four years in the hopes of getting someone into a position to make it
happen. Throughout history, meaningful change in society has always happened from the bottom-up. It is up to us. As you can imagine, this ordeal, among other priorities, has demanded a lot of my attention. So, please excuse my relative silence in the past few months. I've had had a lot going on behind the scenes, and I can assure you that I am fighting harder than ever for our health freedom. But I cannot do this alone. In Truth & Liberty, Jeremy | 
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