As the question of whether West Virginia will allow religious and philosophical exemptions to its school vaccination requirements works its way through the courts, health committee leaders for both the House of Delegates and Senate say they’re not planning bills to change the requirements during the upcoming 2026 session.
Senate Health Committee Chair Laura Chapman, R-Wheeling, said legislation about vaccines should come from the House of Delegates next session. During the 2025 session, the Senate passed a religious exemption bill, but the measure failed in the House.
“This issue is not going away. However, I don’t think it’s necessarily the best use of time to bring this issue up on the Senate side again, because we’ve proven that we care about constitutional rights and can pass the bill,” Chapman told West Virginia Watch. “So from my perspective, I think a bill needs to come from the House if it will pass this session.”
Del. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, chair of the House Health Committee, said a vaccine exemption bill is not his personal priority, and hasn’t been the focus of conversations with other lawmakers about the upcoming legislative session.
“It’s not a priority of mine personally, to push through a vaccine exemption bill, especially in light of everything that’s going on through the court system,” Worrell said. “But if the caucus and or the committee, the majority of members feel that that’s something we need to take a look at, we need to take up, then we’ll do it.”
While she doesn’t plan to introduce the legislation, Chapman said she’d support a bill that would codify religious exemptions.
“All of our surrounding states allow for religious exemption,” she said. “We allow our West Virginia children to play sports against kids from Kentucky and Pennsylvania, and we don’t require vaccines for those kids. And so really it’s a fundamental issue because it’s a constitutional issue, but we’re also not fairly treating children the same because we do allow them to play sports with kids who may or may not be vaccinated.”
State lawmakers have tried for years to water down the state’s strict school vaccine mandates. West Virginia does not allow children whose families object to the shots on religious or philosophical grounds to opt out of school vaccine requirements.
During the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers passed legislation that would have allowed private and parochial schools to have their own vaccine requirements and exempted students attending virtual schools from school mandated vaccinations, but Former Gov. Jim Justice vetoed the bill.
In January, on his second day in office, Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order requiring the state to allow religious exemptions. The governor’s executive order remains in effect even though lawmakers rejected Senate Bill 460, which would have codified the religious exemption. The executive order is based on the Equal Protection for Religion Act of 2023, a religious freedom bill. The state Board of Education advised county boards not to accept religious exemptions.
The issue has been the subject of lawsuits around the state. Raleigh County Circuit Judge Michael Froble last week issued a ruling enjoining the state Department of Education and the Raleigh County board of education from enforcing the school’s vaccination rules on any family that’s sought a religious exemption to the requirements based on the state’s religious freedom bill. The Supreme Court stayed that decision, and the state education officials have reinstated its policy of not accepting religious exemptions.
In comments about the Supreme Court action this week, a spokesperson for Morrisey hinted at the possibility of legislation concerning the issue.
“Whether we prevail in the courts or prevail with the legislature, West Virginia will ultimately join the other 45 states that protect and defend religious liberty and will no longer be such an outlier on vaccine policy,” Morrisey Press Secretary Drew Galang said.
Worrell said there are plans for legislative changes related to the state’s application for the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, and he’s looking into more legislation to align with the Make American Healthy Again agenda. No one is “clamoring” to take up vaccines again this year, probably because the issue is tied up in court, Worrell said.
“We’ve got so many issues with our child welfare system,” he said. “You’ve seen articles about even a local school in my area that does psychiatric residential treatment closing down. We had one happen in Charleston. We’ve got issues with the PATH system. I mean, there are a lot of problems, as you’re well aware.
“I feel like my first year as health chair got bogged down on certificate of need and vaccines,” Worrell said. “And this next session, I’m not going to let that happen again. Other priorities fell by the wayside because of it.”
Senate President Randy Smith, R-Preston, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, did not return a request to comment for this story.
While Worrell said the legislation won’t be his priority, other Republican delegates said they’ll introduce vaccine legislation.
Del. Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, said she’d prefer the state prohibiting vaccine mandates altogether, but she plans to at least introduce a bill adding religious and philosophical exemptions.
“Parents should always have the option to turn down a medical procedure like that, which it is a procedure. It’s getting a shot, a vaccine,” Crouse said. “If it’s something that affects their child’s health, they should have the option, with informed consent, on what they choose to do.”
Crouse said she’s also working on a bill that would require school board members, school faculty and staff to have the same vaccines that are required for students, unless there are expanded exemptions for students and to limit school travel to areas that have the same vaccination laws as West Virginia.
Most states require students attending school be vaccinated for a series of infectious diseases like measles, polio and whooping cough.This year, Idaho officials passed a bill that prohibits all vaccine mandates, including those for school students. Florida officials have also announced plans to end vaccine mandates.
The action comes as cases of vaccine preventable illnesses are on the rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 46 measles outbreaks have been reported in 2025, up from 16 last year. Measles cases have been reported in 43 jurisdictions this year, not including West Virginia.
In 2024, West Virginia reported its first measles case in 15 years. Health experts have attributed the strict vaccination laws with limiting disease outbreaks. Cases of pertussis, commonly referred to as whooping cough, have increased in West Virginia this year. In neighboring Kentucky, three infants have died of the disease this year.
Del. Chris Anders, R-Berkeley, said he plans to again support a bill to eliminate vaccine mandates. Anders was a co-sponsor of a similar bill earlier this year that was introduced but went nowhere.
“No government official, no politician and no bureaucrat should be able to tell you what you have to shoot into your own body,” he said. “That’s just absolutely immoral, and it violates the core principles of individual liberty.”
The 60-day legislative session starts Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.
This article originally appeared on West Virginia Watch.
West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.
