CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The West Virginia Board of Education voted Wednesday to support county school systems in disregarding Governor Patrick Morrisey’s executive order that allows for religious and conscientious exemptions to the state’s school vaccination requirements.
During the meeting, the board approved a motion recommending the State Superintendent issue guidance instructing county school boards to follow the current compulsory school vaccination law.
Under that law, students are only allowed exemptions for medical reasons, with no provisions for religious or conscientious objections.
Governor Morrisey signed the executive order on January 14, aiming to permit such exemptions.
Currently, West Virginia state code requires children enrolled in both public and private schools to provide proof of immunization, unless a valid medical exemption is presented.
An attempt by the state legislature to align state law with the governor’s order through Senate Bill 460 failed earlier this year, after the bill was voted down in the House of Delegates.
Following Wednesday’s vote, Governor Morrisey’s Communications Director Alex Lanfranconi released a statement on X criticizing the board’s decision:
“The West Virginia Board of Education is trampling on the religious liberties of children, ignoring the state’s religious freedom law, and trying to make the state an extreme outlier on vaccine policy when there isn’t a valid public policy reason to do so. This decision isn’t about public health — it’s about making West Virginia more like liberal states such as California and New York.
While under current law, the Board doesn’t report to the Governor, today’s actions show the dangers of having an unelected state school board unaccountable to the people.
Despite today’s wrong-headed decision, we will continue supporting West Virginia families who rely upon our religious freedom law. At the Governor’s direction, the Department of Health will continue to grant religious exemptions consistent with the state’s religious freedom law.”
