Calling for “political accountability,†Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Tuesday announced his support of a lawsuit against West Virginia school officials over their defiance of his executive order requiring religious exemptions to the state’s school-mandated vaccines.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey speaks at a news conference at Tamarack, in Beckley, on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
Governor's Office | Courtesy photo
“These are nine-year terms,†Morrisey said of the school board. ‘That’s a really long time with no political accountability. I would argue that has to change. I am not going to let an unelected body of bureaucrats stop and strip religious liberty protections that are afforded to them under West Virginia law. Period.â€
The lawsuit was filed in Raleigh County Circuit Court on behalf of Miranda Guzman, whose child, A.G., was issued an exemption to the school vaccine mandates by the state Department of Health based on religious beliefs.
Earlier this month, the West Virginia Board of Education voted unanimously that Superintendent Michele Blatt should issue guidance to the county boards of education that they do not allow religious exemptions for the state’s vaccine laws despite Morrisey’s executive order.
The lawsuit names as defendants members of the state board, Blatt and members of the Raleigh County Board of Education.
Judge is supporter of religious freedom bill
Guzman’s lawsuit has been assigned to Raleigh Circuit Judge Todd Kirby. In 2023, Kirby was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and a co-sponsor of the religious freedom bill that is the basis of Morrisey’s executive order. Kirby was appointed judge in July 2024 by then-Gov. Jim Justice.
During a news conference in Beckley on Tuesday, Morrisey again argued that the 2023 Equal Protection for Religion Act should be interpreted as allowing religious exemptions for the state’s school-mandated vaccines.
“In my view, and I think the view of many, many people, this applies to the topic of religious exemptions for vaccines,†Morrisey said. “And that 2023 law was passed over any of the conflicting laws. We know that there were laws passed on compulsory vaccines many, many years ago.
“All we did at the beginning of the year, and all we’re doing now as the executive as per his prerogative and discretion, we’re actually stepping up, and we’re interpreting both laws together,†Morrisey said.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the school board so that the student will be able to attend school. It’s at least the second lawsuit to be filed concerning the executive order. The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia and Mountain State Justice has also filed a writ of mandamus in Kanawha County Circuit Court on behalf of two parents of immunocompromised students. That lawsuit seeks to compel the state’s Department of Health and Bureau for Public Health to stop complying with the executive order.
Speaking about the new lawsuit Tuesday, Morrisey said filing the complaint was a “very noble thing†for Guzman to do.
“As a Christian, Miranda is raising a number of objections to state-mandated vaccines that run counter to her deeply held religious beliefs, including the use of fetal cells in some of the immunizations and preemptively altering her daughter’s natural immune system,†he said. “As governor, I fully support Miranda’s ability to seek a religious exemption, and I support her lawsuit against school board bureaucrats.â€
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, while some vaccines involve growing viruses in human cell cultures originally developed from two aborted fetuses in the 1960s, vaccines themselves do not contain fetal cells.
Every state requires children attending school to be vaccinated against a series of infectious diseases. West Virginia has been one of only five states that allows only medical exemptions for the vaccine requirements.
Morrisey issued his executive order in January. According to the state Department of Health, as of last week, the department had processed 321 religious exemptions for the 2024-2025 school year and 140 religious exemption requests have been processed for the 2025-2026 school year
During the regular session earlier this year, the Legislature rejected Senate Bill 460, which would have put the religious exemptions into state law. The measure passed in the Senate but was voted down in the House of Delegates.
In an email Tuesday, a spokesperson for the state Board of Education reissued a prior statement it previously issued after the board decision not to comply with the governor’s order.
The board’s direction “is in line with the actions of the West Virginia Legislature during the 2025 regular session which did not vote in favor of religious exemptions for vaccines,†the statement said. “The intent of the state board is to do what is best for the 241,000 children, 23,000 educators and 15,000 service personnel in our 629 public schools. This includes taking the important steps of protecting the school community from the real risk of exposure to litigation that could result from not following vaccination laws. This board is constitutionally bound to provide a thorough and efficient system of free schools, and our members remain committed to this charge.â€
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