The recent measles exposure at the Ark Encounter isn’t an isolated incident — it highlights a broader, growing intersection we can no longer ignore: homeschooling networks, evangelical programming, and vaccine refusal intersecting with public schools.
We know that LifeWise Academy takes public school students to the Ark Encounter and similar high-traffic religious attractions. These trips may occur during the public school day, with students removed from campus and placed in environments that draw large crowds, including unvaccinated visitors from across the country.
Let us be absolutely clear:
Secular Education Association is PRO-VACCINATION.
We support:
✔ Evidence-based public health policy
✔ Childhood vaccination as a cornerstone of community safety
✔ The MMR vaccine and the overwhelming scientific consensus behind it
✔ Protecting immunocompromised students and families
✔ Transparent accountability when children are taken off school grounds
This is not about attacking religion.
This is not about attacking homeschooling.
It is about recognizing a documented pattern:
• Evangelical institutions framing science and public health as ideological threats
• Homeschooling and religious exemptions being used to avoid vaccination requirements
• Anti-vaccine rhetoric repackaged as “parental rights” or “religious liberty”
• Third-party religious programs operating through public schools without clear public-health safeguards
Measles is airborne. It is extremely contagious. It does not respect belief systems, parental ideology, or institutional boundaries.
When public schools allow outside organizations to remove children during the school day — possibly transporting them across state lines — and placing them in crowded venues tied to communities with lower vaccination uptake, student safety becomes a shared responsibility.
Parents deserve:
• Full transparency
• Accurate health information
• Clear notification protocols
• And assurance that preventable public-health risks are not being ignored
SEA will continue to advocate for science-based education, strong public schools, and policies that protect all children — not just the loudest voices in the room.
What people are saying:
- Facebook User: From the Washington Post:
“The share of U.S. counties where 95 percent or more of kindergartners were vaccinated against measles — the number needed to achieve overall protection for the class, known as “herd immunity” — has dropped from 5o percent before the pandemic to 28 percent, according to The Post’s examination of the public records from 44 states and the District of Columbia.”
For real, scientifically sound information on immunization and other topics, check out
Facebook User and her Immunologic newsletter.- Facebook User: Facebook User or you can listen to the brain-worm guy 😏
- Facebook User: Facebook User Nooooooooo! 🤦🏻♂️
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