West Virginia’s Board of Education is now allowing students to opt out of vaccine requirements through religious exemptions, following a judicial order.
The board on Nov. 26 said it was suspending its policy on compulsory vaccination requirements in light of an order that day from West Virginia Circuit Judge Michael Froble.
The judge wrote in a 74-page ruling that the Board of Education’s previous choice to deny all requests for religious exemptions “substantially burdened Plaintiffs’ religious exercise by forcing them to choose between vaccination and public education.”
While state officials have a compelling interest in protecting health, that interest can still be achieved by allowing religious exemptions, Froble said, citing how just 570 requests have been made. Those “constitute a small fraction of the statewide student population and would not meaningfully reduce vaccination rates or increase health risks,” the judge wrote….