Student sues California university, county health officials over COVID restrictions

A Cal Poly student who was barred from attending class in person after refusing to comply with COVID-19 regulations is suing the university and local health authorities.

Elijah Behringer claimed the university and San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department officials violated his federal and state rights “under sham application of state law and authority,” according to a lawsuit filed May 23.

In his lawsuit, Behringer questioned the legitimacy of the COVID-19 pandemic and the right of organizations such as the World Health Organization to dictate state and federal health regulations. It also claimed Cal Poly failed to get informed consent from Behringer and others for the use of masks, vaccines and testing.

The lawsuit identifies the defendants as Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Health and Well-being Tina Hadaway-Mellis; COVID-19 Lead Coordinator Valla Hardy, Disability Resource Center Assistant Director Amy Gode, the municipal government of San Luis Obispo County and County Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein.

Behringer, who was studying electrical engineering, started attending Cal Poly in 2019.

He skipped his enrollment in September 2021 — partially due to the COVID-19 regulations — with a plan to return in January 2022, he said.

But after the university did not grant his requests for exemptions to the vaccination, testing and mask-wearing regulations, Behringer claimed in his lawsuit he was effectively “suspended” from campus, preventing him from returning to classes.

When he returned the first day of winter quarter, he found out he wasn’t allowed to go to class, he said.

Since then, Behringer has been on an indefinite leave of absence.

Instead of learning about engineering, he has spent the past year learning about the law, he told The Tribune in an interview Wednesday.

Behringer said he could return to Cal Poly in the fall, with junior standing, but decided it was better at this time to file a lawsuit “to deter these kinds of civil rights misconduct.”

Student claims Cal Poly COVID rules violated rights

According to the 54-page civil complaint, Behringer was not vaccinated against COVID-19, did not wear a face mask on campus and refused to complete screening for potential coronavirus symptoms — all measures required of students, faculty members and staff seeking to access campus during the pandemic.

In July 2021, former CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro implemented a vaccine requirement across the university system, including Cal Poly. Booster shots were additionally required for people to be considered fully vaccinated in December.

In a community-wide email Dec. 1, 2021, Armstrong said online classes would not be offered for winter quarter in light of the university’s new testing and vaccination requirements.

“Our on- and off-campus experts were unanimous in their view that moving away from in-person classes and activities will only serve to delay implementation of our enhanced mitigation strategy that includes 100% testing for returning students and booster clinics,” Armstrong wrote in the email.

That month, Behringer was added to the university’s testing and compliance program — a program designed for students and faculty who had not submitted proof of vaccination. The university required those students and faculty members to test for COVID-19 every three days in the on-campus saliva lab.

Behringer refused to comply and requested an exemption to allow him to go to class starting in winter quarter, the lawsuit said.

Nearly 600 people requested an exemption from COVID-19 vaccinations for fall quarter 2021, The Tribune previously reported.

According to court documents, Gode, the assistant director of Cal Poly’s Disability Resource Center, denied his exemption request in early January 2022.

On Jan. 3, 2022, Gode emailed Behringer, denying his request to not wear a mask on campus, the lawsuit said. She explained that his application and documentation provided “doesn’t rise to the level of being reasonable under disability law.”

That meant Behringer could not access on-campus classes and facilities if he would not comply with the regulations, the lawsuit claimed.

In his lawsuit, Behringer claimed Cal Poly administration and county health officials “teamed up to terrorize and coerce an entire civilian population” into wearing masks and following recommended COVID safety guidelines.

“They worked to browbeat people into sacrificing their inherent sovereignty at the altar of medical-themed neuroticism,” the lawsuit continued.

The university removed its mask mandate and the symptom screening requirements in the summer of 2022.

Cal Poly student wants jury trial, tuition fees paid

Behringer is representing himself in the lawsuit, namely because he does not have the money for an attorney, he told The Tribune.

“In spirit with the Cal Poly slogan ‘Learn by Doing,’ I figured if I was going to sue somebody, I should learn to do it myself,” Behringer said.

He is seeking a jury trial in addition to reimbursement for tuition and legal fees. According to the lawsuit, Behringer paid a total of $41,433 in tuition at Cal Poly before he was barred from attending class in person.

As of June 2023, Behringer still remains unvaccinated.

The San Luis Obispo County Health Department is seeking outside counsel for the lawsuit.

“Based upon counsel’s initial review of the complaint, the county intends to challenge the federal lawsuit’s filing,” Borenstein wrote in an email to The Tribune.

Cal Poly has also received the complaint, according to university spokesperson Matt Lazier. It is in the process of responding to Behringer.

“Cal Poly is not commenting on this litigation at this early stage,” Lazier told The Tribune through email.