Morrisey Submits Brief In Support Of School Vaccine Lawsuit 

Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Monday morning that he had filed an amicus brief in the school vaccination case currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.  

The court agreed last December to review an order from the Raleigh County Circuit Court in response to a petition from the West Virginia Board of Education (BOE).   

In November, Raleigh County Judge Michael Froble granted a permanent injunction against the BOE in Miranda Guzman v. State Department of Education. Froble wrote in a published order that the Equal Protection for Religion Act (EPRA) applies to the state’s vaccine requirements and required the board to accept religious and philosophical exemptions to the state’s compulsory vaccine law.   

The court issued an order halting Froble’s order in December. 

While not directly involved in the case, Morrisey’s amicus brief – also known as a “friend of the court” brief – asks the Supreme Court to affirm the lower court’s ruling. The Professional Charter School Board (PCSB) voted at its monthly meeting in April to submit its own amicus brief.  

In a press release, Morrisey said his amicus brief argues that a 2023 religious rights law requires the state to provide meaningful accommodations for sincere religious objections.  

“West Virginia law protects religious freedom, and that law must be followed,” Morrisey said. “Parents should not be forced to choose between their sincere religious beliefs and their child’s right to an education. The Equal Protection for Religion Act is clear, and my administration will continue fighting to ensure that religious liberty is respected across state government.” 

The governor’s argument centers around the Equal Protection for Religion Act (EPRA). The EPRA was enacted by the state legislature in 2023 and prohibits the government from substantially burdening sincere religious exercise unless it satisfies the strictest legal scrutiny. The Governor’s brief argues that EPRA applies to West Virginia’s school vaccination law and requires the state to provide meaningful accommodation for families with sincere religious objections.  

In a brief filed in March, the BOE argues that Raleigh County Circuit Court incorrectly interpreted the EPRA to allow exemptions.   

Morrisey issued an executive order in January 2025 granting religious and philosophical exemptions to the state school vaccination requirements. Current state law says children must be vaccinated for chickenpox, hepatitis-b, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough before beginning school.   

“This case is not about whether vaccines are effective or whether families may choose them,” Morrisey said. “It is about whether the government can ignore a law designed to protect sincere religious exercise. West Virginia must be a state where families of faith are not pushed out of the classroom because they exercised rights protected by law.” 

In April a federal court overturned a lower court’s allowance of vaccine exemptions in Upshur County and argued that the state’s vaccination requirement is a legitimate exercise of the state’s power to protect the health and well-being of school children. 

The court’s scheduling order gives the defendants and petitioners until June 1 to make their arguments in writing.