The leaders of the West Virginia House of Representatives and Senate Health Committee say vaccine exemption legislation in 2026 is not a priority for them. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)
As the question of whether West Virginia will allow religious and philosophical exemptions to its school vaccination requirements makes its way through the courts, the chairmen of both the House and Senate health committees say they have no plans to draft legislation to change the requirements in the upcoming 2026 session.
Senate Health Committee Chairwoman Laura Chapman, R-Wheeling, said vaccine legislation should be passed by the House 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 time to bring this issue up again on the Senate side because we’ve proven that we care about constitutional rights and we can pass the bill,” Chapman told West Virginia Watch. “From my perspective, I think a bill needs to be introduced by the House if it passes this session.”
Del. House Health Committee Chairman Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, said a vaccine exemption bill is not his personal priority and is not the focus of conversations with other lawmakers about the upcoming legislative session.
“It is not a priority for me personally to push through a vaccine exemption law, especially with everything that is going on in the court system,” Worrell said. “But if the caucus and/or the committee, the majority of the members, feel that we need to deal with it, that we need to deal with it, then we will do it.”
Although she doesn’t plan to introduce the bill, Chapman said she would support a bill that would codify religious exemptions.
“All of our surrounding states allow a religious exemption,” she said. “We allow our kids from West Virginia to play sports against kids from Kentucky and Pennsylvania, and we don’t require vaccinations for those kids. And it’s really a fundamental issue because it’s a constitutional issue, but we’re also not treating kids equally because we allow them to play sports with kids who may or may not be vaccinated.”
State lawmakers have been trying for years to weaken the state’s strict school vaccination requirements. West Virginia does not allow children whose families object to vaccinations for religious or philosophical reasons to opt out of school vaccinations.
During the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill that would have allowed private and parochial schools to impose their own vaccination requirements and exempt students from it Attending virtual schools after compulsory vaccinations, but former Gov. Jim Justice vetoed the bill.
In January, on his second day in office, Gov. Patrick Morrisey released one Implementing regulation oblige the state to allow religious exemptions. However, the governor’s executive order remains in effect Lawmakers rejected Senate Bill 460which would have codified the religious exception. The executive order is based on the Equal Protection for Religion Act of 2023, a religious freedom law. The state education department recommended that district officials not accept exemptions for religious reasons.
The problem was that subject of lawsuits around the state. Raleigh County District Judge Michael Froble last week issue a decision It calls on the state Department of Education and the Raleigh County Board of Education to enforce school vaccination requirements on all families who request a religious exemption from the requirements of the state’s religious freedom law. The Supreme Court overturned this decision, and state education authorities have reinstated their policy of not accepting religious exemptions.
Commenting on the Supreme Court’s action this week, a spokesman for Morrisey raised the possibility of legislation on the issue.
“Whether we prevail in court or prevail in the Legislature, West Virginia will ultimately join the other 45 states that protect and defend religious freedom and will no longer be such an outlier on vaccination policy,” said Morrisey press secretary Drew Galang.
Worrell said there are plans for legislative changes related to the state’s bid for the federal Rural Health Transformation Program and he is reviewing additional legislation to align with the Make American Healthy Again agenda. No one is “crying” to start vaccinations again this year, likely because the matter is being litigated, Worrell said.
“We have so many problems with our child welfare system,” he said. “They even saw articles about a local school in my area will inpatient psychiatric treatment be closed?. Something happened to us in Charleston. We are having problems with the PATH system. I mean, there are a lot of problems, as you know.
“I feel like my first year as health officer has stalled with the certificate of need and vaccinations,” Worrell said. “And I will not allow that to happen again in the next meeting. Other priorities have fallen by the wayside as a result.”
Senate President Randy Smith, R-Preston, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
While Worrell said legislation would not be his priority, other Republican delegates said they would introduce vaccine legislation.
Del. Rep. Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, said she would prefer the state to ban vaccine mandates entirely, but she plans to introduce at least a bill that would provide religious and philosophical exemptions.
“Parents should always have the option to refuse a medical procedure like this, because it is a procedure. It is about a vaccination, a vaccine,” Crouse said. “If it’s something that impacts their child’s health, they should have the opportunity to decide what they want to do with informed consent.”
Crouse said she is also working on a bill that would require school board members, teachers and staff to have the same vaccinations required for students unless there are expanded exemptions for students, and to limit school trips to areas that have the same vaccination laws as West Virginia.
Most states require students attending school to be vaccinated against a number of infectious diseases, including measles, polio and whooping cough. This year Idaho officials passed a law banning all vaccination requirements, including those for students. Florida officials have done the same announced plans to end vaccination requirements.
The action comes as the number of vaccine-preventable diseases increases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and PreventionThere were 46 measles outbreaks reported in 2025, up from 16 the previous year. Measles cases were reported in 43 jurisdictions this year, not including West Virginia.
In 2024, West Virginia reported It is the first case of measles in 15 years. Health experts attribute the strict vaccination laws to limiting disease outbreaks. Cases of pertussis, commonly referred to as whooping cough, have increased in West Virginia this year. In neighboring Kentucky there are three petite children died of the disease this year.
Del. Chris Anders, R-Berkeley, said he plans to again support a bill to eliminate vaccination requirements. Anders was a co-sponsor of a similar bill This was introduced earlier this year but went nowhere.
“No government official, no politician and no bureaucrat should be able to tell you what to shoot into your own body,” he said. “This is just absolutely immoral and violates the basic principles of individual freedom.”
The 60-day legislative session begins Wednesday, January 14, 2026.
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