The Supreme Court halted Froble\u2019s ruling pending resolution of appeals in the case. In light of that, the board said in a statement that it \u201cis reinstating its directive to county boards of education not to accept religious exemptions to compulsory vaccination laws. This directive will be in effect until the Supreme Court issues further guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The board further said its priority is to ensure compliance with the vaccine law \u201cand safeguard the health and well-being of all students across West Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n
The board had suspended the vaccine mandate last week after Froble\u2019s ruling, which said that a state policy barring parents from seeking religious exemptions violated the Equal Protection for Religion Act<\/a> signed into law in 2023 by then-Republican Gov. Jim Justice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> allowing religious exemptions. In June, the board directed public schools to ignore Morrisey\u2019s executive order. Two groups had sued<\/a> over the executive order, saying the Legislature, not the governor, has the authority to make such decisions. <\/p>\n Legislation that would have allowed the religious exemptions was passed by the state Senate and rejected by the House of Delegates<\/a> earlier this year. Froble said in his ruling that the failure of the legislation did not determine the application of the 2023 law. He rejected the defendants\u2019 argument that religious exemptions can only be created by legislative action.<\/p>\n Morrisey spokesman Drew Galang said in a statement Tuesday night that the governor\u2019s office is reviewing the Supreme Court\u2019s order.<\/p>\n
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