Courts to decide? State BOE pushes back on religious exemptions in charter schools

On Jan. 14, however, Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed Executive Order 7-25, citing West Virginia’s 2023 Equal Protection for Religion Act, to allow religious objections to school vaccination mandates.

At its Aug. 7 board meeting, the PCSB — created by the Legislature in 2021 to create and oversee charter schools — discussed whether the EPRA could override compulsory immunization requirements.Ìý

"This guidance has been consistent since January 2025," James Paul, executive director of the PCSB, said in an email Wednesday. "Accordingly, no formal action was taken on this matter at the August meeting. Please note that PCSB members were not weighing the supremacy of an executive order versus a law; rather, they were considering two potentially conflicting laws."

Paul said the board ultimately advised charter schools that the only students who may be enrolled without proof of full vaccinations are those with a BPH-issued exemption letter. "If a student has such a letter, he or she should be enrolled," he said.

West Virginia code states that the PCSB and public charter schools are subject to the general supervision of the state board solely for the purposes of accountability for meeting the state's standards for student performance.

Brawling with the BOE

The state Board of Education, which was recently involved in a Raleigh County mother's lawsuits over vaccine mandates, revisited the issue during its Wednesday meeting. Board President Paul Hardesty addressed the governor's criticism, saying he took offense to Morrisey's representation of board members as "unelected bureaucrats."

Hardesty said that characterization was inaccurate, noting board members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate — a process designed to maintain checks and balances between branches of government. He said the board’s responsibility is to uphold the law as written — in this case, the state’s 1937 compulsory immunization statute — and to follow the advice of its legal counsel rather than executive orders that conflict with existing law.

"[Morrisey] has repeatedly said that the way he interprets the law, we should act in a different manner. Our counsel advises us that that’s not the way to go. Who’s right, who’s wrong? I don’t know, ladies and gentlemen. But I can tell you this with 100% certainty, the chief executive does not have the right or the ability to perform the judicial branch of government’s function.�

He closed his statement by reaffirming the board’s commitment to comply with whatever decision the courts make, stressing the importance of separation of powers and the board’s duty to act within the law.

Also on Wednesday, during the BOE meeting, Morrisey posted on X that he also believes this fight will be determined in court.

"I want every family seeking a religious exemption to the radical state school board policy to know that we have your back and will ultimately win this fight — the school board is ignoring the religious freedom law and trying to make West Virginia an extreme outlier on vaccine policy," he wrote, in part. "I recognize that the Board is creating hardships for families but we will keep pushing. Religious freedom is a cornerstone of our constitutional system and required under state law — we will eventually defeat this politically unaccountable board. Nine year [sic] board terms are too long and need to be reconsidered."