Mr. Kennedy and fellow lawyer Michael Sussman filed the suit in the New York State Supreme Court on behalf of 55 families who previously received religious exemptions from the state.
New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill eliminating religious exemptions for school-age children June 13 as part of a larger effort to control two measles outbreaks primarily affecting Orthodox Jewish communities in the state.
The lawsuit claims the ban violates state and federal law, depriving families “of the rights to freedom of religious expression, parental rights and the right to either a public or private education,” Mr. Sussman said in a statement cited by The Baltimore Sun.
Advocates of the ban say it will protect more children from preventable diseases like measles.
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