A case focused on religious exemptions to school vaccination requirements in Raleigh County has gotten statewide attention, including from the governor.
Now, additional cases in other counties across West Virginia are focused on the same issue.
In Gilmer County, a mother has asked for a preliminary injunction to allow her two children to attend public school based on a religious exemption obtained from the state Department of Health, according to court filings.
And last week in Berkeley County, a lawsuit asking for an injunction was filed on behalf of eight students whose families are seeking to have the local school system honor religious exemptions for vaccines.
Referring to the compulsory vaccination law, attorneys in Berkeley County wrote that “each of the named Plaintiffs have chosen, after significant spiritual reflection, to forgo some or all of the vaccines on the CVL as being contrary to religious guidance they have received from the Holy Spirit.”
Much of the focus on the West Virginia policy debate over religious exemptions to vaccines has been on the governor and the state school board, who are on opposite sides.
But as a practical matter, the conflict is starting to take root in county courthouses across the state. That is the way it’s supposed to be under a religious freedom law passed in 2023 that allows individuals to pursue a legal remedy if they believe their convictions are being usurped.
West Virginia students entering school for the first time must show proof of immunization against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and hepatitis B unless properly medically exempted.
Members of the state school board maintain the mandatory vaccination law should be interpreted based on its straightforward language. The House of Delegates earlier this year voted down a bill that would have added an explicit religious exemption to the vaccination law.
Morrisey’s administration and lawyers for families seeking religious exemptions to school vaccination requirements have consistently cited West Virginia’s “Equal Protection for Religion Act,” which went into law in 2023.
The policy lays out the ability of individuals who believe their religious rights have been violated to seek a claim in court. The law says no state action may burden an individual’s exercise of religion unless it’s essential to furthering a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of achieving that.
In Raleigh County, which has been the subject of early attention, Judge Michael Froble has already ordered a preliminary injunction in favor of three families who want the public schools to admit four students based on religious exemptions.
Judge Froble has scheduled a more detailed, multi-day permanent injunction hearing for next week.
Lawyers for the state school board have asked the state Supreme Court to halt that lower court activity as part of a request for an expedited review of what has already happened in the circuit court. The attorneys for the families seeking religious exemptions filed a motion this week withdrawing objections to the stay.
Attorneys for the state school board are asking for a Supreme Court review in part because residents of other counties are using what has happened in Raleigh Circuit Court as a map for their own legal actions.
Right now, county boards of education across the state have followed the West Virginia Board of Education’s directive to follow the vaccine law as written and deny religious exemptions that are not specifically laid out in that section of code, wrote Christopher Smith, an attorney for the state board in a motion for expedited review.
“Those boards of education now face new potential litigation from parents confused by the fact that Bureau for Public Health continues to issue religious exemptions,” Smith wrote.
Addressing state Supreme Court justices, he wrote, “This Court’s resolution of the interplay between the two statutes may very well extinguish those lawsuits. At minimum, it will inform circuit courts regarding the proper legal framework to apply to these challenges.”
In Gilmer County, the mother who is suing provided a copy of a religious exemption the family obtained in late February, along with a copy of emails sent to the county school board in July to appeal a denial of the exemption’s recognition for the coming year.
“Recent court rulings in West Virginia, including those in Raleigh County, have affirmed that religious exemptions must be respected under state law and the First Amendment,” the mother wrote to the Gilmer County board.
The Berkeley County lawsuit differs in that more families and students are involved.
“This case relates to attempts by the West Virginia and Berkeley County Boards of Education to directly defy the duly authorized laws of the state of West Virginia and the explicit Orders of its chief Executive, Governor Patrick Morrisey,” wrote Christian Riddell, a Martinsburg attorney representing the families.
Patrick Murphy, a board member for the Berkeley County school system, spoke about the legal issues this week on Panhandle Live on WEPM Radio.
“I respect the parents’ right to appeal,” Murphy said, noting that he was speaking for himself, not necessarily for the rest of the board.
But he said, “I feel like we’re in the middle of a firing squad here, getting shots from all angles because we have the state board’s authority, we have the governor’s authority and we’re caught in the middle. So I’m glad it’s going to be resolved by an impartial judge.”