West Virginia Supreme Court halts religious exemptions, reinstates school vaccine mandate
A swift and hard-edged policy reversal gripped West Virginia on Tuesday as the state Board of Education reinstated its long-standing school vaccination mandate. The decision came just hours after the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals stepped in to pause a lower-court ruling that had temporarily allowed parents to refuse mandatory vaccines on religious grounds, as reported by the Associated Press. The brief window of exemptions, opened by a Raleigh County judge last week, closed abruptly under the weight of judicial scrutiny.The ruling by the Supreme Court restored West Virginia’s reputation as one of the nation’s most uncompromising defenders of school immunisation policies. It also reignited a statewide debate over how far religious liberties can extend when set against the state’s public health priorities and a decades-old legal framework designed to prevent outbreaks among schoolchildren.
Supreme Court stay forces immediate policy reset
The state Supreme Court issued a stay on Judge Michael Froble’s ruling, which had permitted children of families claiming religious objections to bypass immunisation requirements while attending school or participating in extracurricular programmes. The stay will remain in effect while appeals move forward.Responding within hours, the Board of Education reinstated its directive barring any religious exemptions to compulsory vaccination laws. The board stated the order would persist “until the Supreme Court issues further guidance,” reaffirming that its priority is to ensure legal compliance and safeguard student health statewide.
Mandate suspended, revived, and now reinforced
Judge Froble’s initial injunction had argued that prohibiting religious exemptions conflicted with the Equal Protection for Religion Act, enacted in 2023 under former Governor Jim Justice. His ruling had temporarily overturned a strict immunisation regime that had historically allowed only medical exemptions.The Supreme Court’s intervention has now restored the mandate in full, reversing last week’s short-lived policy suspension and reaffirming the state’s longstanding stance on uncompromised vaccination requirements for all schoolchildren.
Political tensions over authority and legislative boundaries
Governor Patrick Morrisey’s January executive order permitting religious exemptions ignited a legal confrontation in a state where such exemptions had never been recognised. In June, the Board of Education instructed schools to disregard the governor’s directive, asserting that only the Legislature has the authority to reshape exemption policies.Two groups sued, arguing that Morrisey overstepped his executive power. While the Senate passed a bill allowing religious exemptions earlier this year, the House of Delegates rejected it. Judge Froble later ruled that the legislative failure did not limit the application of the 2023 religious protection statute.Source: APA spokesman for Governor Morrisey, Drew Galang, said Tuesday night that the administration is reviewing the Supreme Court’s order.Source: AP
Parents’ class action expands the legal battlefield
The lawsuit led by parent Miranda Guzman challenged the rescission of religious exemptions previously granted by the state health department. Guzman had obtained such an exemption for her child for the 2025–26 school year, only to be informed via email on June 17 that the approval had been revoked, according to the complaint.Last month, Judge Froble certified the lawsuit as a class action involving 570 families across West Virginia who had secured similar exemptions. The ruling also extends to parents who may seek such exemptions in the future.
A state long seen as a public health stronghold
West Virginia’s vaccination requirements have been hailed by medical experts as among the most rigorous in the nation. State law mandates immunisation against chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus, and whooping cough before school entry.More than 30 states now have religious freedom laws inspired by the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, signed by President Bill Clinton, which permits challenges to regulations perceived as burdensome to religious expression.
What the state awaits next
The Supreme Court’s stay reasserts the vaccine mandate for now, but West Virginia remains on the brink of a defining legal battle. Ultimately, the court’s final decision will determine whether the state continues its stringent immunisation tradition or whether it must accommodate religious exemptions for the first time in decades.As litigation unfolds, the ruling promises to shape the contours of public health policy and religious liberty not only in West Virginia but also across states confronting similar ideological divides.(With inputs from Associated Press)
