Appeals court urged to uphold $4M verdict in favor of teachers in religious freedom case

By Michael Gryboski, Editor Friday, May 29, 2026

A federal appeals court has been urged to uphold a jury verdict awarding Missouri teachers denied religious exemptions to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate a $4 million judgment. 

The Becket Fund, which specializes in religious liberty litigation, filed an amicus brief Wednesday with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Brandon v. Board of Education of the City of St. Louis.

The lawsuit centers on the St. Louis Public School District's 2021 mandate requiring all teachers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or face unpaid leave or termination. School officials reportedly denied every request for a religious exemption while granting medical exemption requests.

In its brief, Becket argued that the school district's policy “favored secular conduct over comparable religious conduct” and that officials failed to show that granting religious exemptions would impose an “undue hardship” on the district.

“The District provided accommodations for contact tracing, quarantining, and remote working for staff members who were unvaccinated for medical reasons, as it retained options for teachers to teach remotely if they were required to quarantine,” the brief stated, in part. “The District received significant federal funding that could assist with increased costs.”

Andrea Butler, counsel at Becket, claimed Thursday that the school district has a “discriminatory double standard” that “flouted basic fairness and our nation’s promise of religious freedom.”

“Public health uncertainty is not a blank check for government to bulldoze religious freedom,” Butler said. “The Supreme Court made that crystal clear again and again during the pandemic.”

“St. Louis Public Schools should be held fully accountable for its religious discrimination, punishing dedicated teachers simply because they chose faith over a government mandate,” she added.

The St. Louis Board of Education adopted the vaccine mandate in fall 2021. Officials denied all requests for religious exemptions despite claiming that such exemptions were available.

“People have a right to freedom of religion in this country, and students have a right to a free public education,” Charles Burton, former human resources director for the school district, said in a 2021 deposition quoted by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“So we find ourselves balancing the two, and in the end, the rights of the children, particularly as they relate to our obligation and charge as an institution, outweigh those of the employees.”

Although most of the affected teachers were allowed to return to work in 2022, 43 filed suit against the school district, and many received settlement payments.

In July last year, a jury ruled in favor of 13 employees, led by teacher Wanda Brandon. A judge later awarded them $4 million, according to The Post-Dispatch.

The school district appealed the decision to the 8th Circuit.