A West Virginia parent sues seeking a religious exemption from required school vaccinations

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia woman filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking a religious exemption from required school vaccinations for her young child.

Miranda Guzman alleges that the state’s vaccine mandate violates a 2023 West Virginia law that stipulates the government would not be able to “substantially burden” someone’s constitutional right to freedom of religion unless doing so “is essential to further a compelling governmental interest.” Guzman sued the state and local boards of education and the county schools superintendent in Raleigh County Circuit Court.

West Virginia was among just a handful of states that granted only medical exemptions from school vaccinations when Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order in January allowing religious exemptions. However, the state Board of Education voted this month to direct public schools to ignore the executive order and instead follow long-standing school vaccine requirements that are laid out in state law.

Also, two groups have sued over the governor’s order, saying the Legislature, not the governor, has the authority to make such decisions.

Guzman obtained a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate from the state health department and enrolled her child in elementary school for the 2025-26 school year. But on June 17, Guzman received an email from the Raleigh County school superintendent rescinding the certificate, according to the lawsuit.

Guzman’s attorneys said “the straightforward legal issue” in the lawsuit is whether enforcement of the state vaccine mandate violates the 2023 Equal Protection for Religion Act.

West Virginia Board of Education spokesperson Christy Day referred to a June 12 statement from the board that its intent is to “do what is best” for public school students, educators and school service personnel. “This includes taking the important steps of protecting the school community from the real risk of exposure to litigation that could result from not following vaccination laws,” the earlier statement said.

A telephone message left with Raleigh County Schools Superintendent Serena Starcher wasn’t immediately returned.

West Virginia’s school vaccination policy long has been heralded by medical experts as one of the most protective in the country for children. State law requires children to receive vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough before starting school.

Morrisey, who is not a party to the lawsuit, held a news conference Tuesday in Beckley in support of Guzman.

“This is not about whether or not about parents should vaccinate their children,” Morrisey said. “This is about standing up for religious liberty.”

At least 30 states have religious freedom laws, including one signed by Georgia’s governor in April. The laws are modeled after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, signed in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton, which allows federal regulations that interfere with religious beliefs to be challenged.