Welcome! This is such an important question, and as you have seen there are many routes and it takes a lot of listening to your intuition.
If you truly feel that your child must be in a particular school you will have more of an uphill battle in states like Cali and NY. However college most likely would be “easier” to file exemptions and pester the system so to speak because they are considered adults not minors. A religious attestation of faith is rock solid. I do not recommend medical exemptions solely on the reasoning that the onus of proof is on you. You do not ever have to prove your religious faith. Christian Science is the most rock solid.
Choose what is best for you and just how you may have to choose what is most important to your family. Fighting on the grounds of religion will always give you more leverage because it is constitutionally protected.
I have a hard time believing that they have the manpower to check every form, so have parents submitted forms? Wink Wink Yes. I know a lot of parents who want to fly under the radar just don’t make a scene and do not do anything out loud, they just hand in the “form” and act normal.
Some submit a religious attestation of faith and some submit a “form” that looks like all the others.
Good luck, you’ve got this!