‘You Cannot Sideline Parents,’ RFK Jr. Warns, as HHS Launches Probe Into School That Ignored Religious Exemption
If this case is ignored, the next breach of parental rights could be at your doorstep.
This article originally appeared on The Defender and was republished with permission.
Guest post by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.
HHS said today it is investigating a complaint that a Midwestern school ignored a valid religious exemption and did not obtain parental consent when it vaccinated a student. Meanwhile, the West Virginia Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a ruling requiring schools to allow religious exemptions.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today that it is investigating a complaint that a Midwestern school disregarded a valid religious exemption and failed to obtain parental consent when vaccinating a student.
The federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provided the vaccine.
Schools, medical practices or other entities that accept vaccines from the VFC Program are required to comply “with state religious and other exemptions from compulsory vaccination,” HHS said.
The HHS Office for Civil Rights will examine whether the school failed to meet that program requirement, HHS said.
HHS did not disclose the name of the school under investigation or the student who was vaccinated.
VFC provides free vaccines to children who are uninsured, underinsured or on Medicaid. VFC requires doctors to administer all vaccines on the childhood immunization schedule to children enrolled in the program.
“Today, we are putting pediatric medical professionals on notice: you cannot sideline parents,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “When providers ignore parental consent, violate exemptions to vaccine mandates, or keep parents in the dark about their children’s care, we will act decisively. We will use every tool at our disposal to protect families and restore accountability.”
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HHS said it also issued a letter reminding healthcare providers about a federal law that requires them to allow parents to access their children’s health information.
This is the latest in a series of HHS actions relating to religious exemptions.
In August, the Office for Civil Rights warned West Virginia that it may lose $1.37 billion in federal health funding if the state’s health departments, which are enrolled in the VFC Program, don’t follow laws recognizing religious freedom — including religious exemptions to childhood vaccination.
In September, HHS stated that healthcare providers and states administering vaccines to children through the VFC program must respect religious and conscience exemptions to vaccination in order to maintain their eligibility to participate in the VFC Program.
“Mandatory medicine — mandatory vaccines, masks, tests — has become a global and central legal and political issue,” said Children’s Health Defense (CHD) CEO Mary Holland. “Do the state’s interests stop at the skin, or do they literally penetrate to individuals’ blood and guts?”
Holland added:
“CHD strongly supports the right to informed consent and informed refusal of all medical interventions — this is the essence of what the Nuremberg Code stands for. That document was the antidote to the medical atrocities of World War II. Religious exemption rights are one aspect of true informed consent and refusal — whether that ‘informed’ nature comes from religion or science or wherever else.”
Attorney Greg Glaser called the latest HHS’ action “encouraging.”
“What occurred at this school represents everything wrong with our current system as medical professionals disregard both parental consent and religious protections to push unnecessary medical procedures on children,” Glaser said.
According to Glaser, HHS has “several powerful tools at its disposal in these instances, including withholding federal funds from institutions that violate religious freedom protections, pursuing civil rights investigations through the Office for Civil Rights, and referring cases to the Department of Justice when appropriate.”
West Virginia Supreme Court overturns ruling allowing religious exemptions
HHS’ August letter specifically referenced ongoing legal and legislative battles over childhood religious exemptions in West Virginia.
On Tuesday, the West Virginia Supreme Court suspended a lower court’s ruling that would have allowed students in the state to attend school with a religious exemption, West Virginia Watch reported.
That ruling overrules a decision last week by the Circuit Court of Raleigh County that barred the state and county departments of education from enforcing school vaccination requirements for students seeking a religious or philosophical exemption.
The West Virginia Department of Education had suspended its compulsory vaccination policy last week following the circuit court’s ruling — but reinstated the policy following Tuesday’s state Supreme Court ruling.
The court case stemmed from an executive order issued in January by Gov. Patrick Morrisey. The order allows religious and conscientious objections to the state’s vaccine requirements for schoolchildren.
The executive order is based on the Equal Protection for Religion Act of 2023, a state religious freedom law. To comply with the order, parents need only provide a written statement explaining why they object to the vaccines.
In June, the West Virginia Department of Education voted unanimously to instruct county boards of education not to accept religious exemptions, defying Morrisey’s order. In March, the West Virginia House of Delegates rejected Senate Bill 460, which would have codified religious exemptions into law.
These developments prompted three Raleigh County parents, Miranda Guzman, Amanda Tulley and Carley Hunter, in June, to sue the state and county boards of education and the county schools superintendent to obtain religious exemptions for their children. The class-action lawsuit led to the past week’s rulings.
In July, the parents won a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the state’s vaccination requirement.
California, Maine, New York and Connecticut are the only other states that don’t allow religious or philosophical exemptions to school vaccine mandates.
West Virginia state law requires children to receive vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough before starting school. The law doesn’t require COVID-19 shots for children.
West Virginia Dept. of Education won’t recognize exemptions after ruling
West Virginia Watch, citing the state’s Department of Health, reported that 659 religious exemptions were granted statewide for the 2025-26 school year.
In a statement provided to The Defender, Christy Day, communications director of the West Virginia Department of Education, suggested that these exemptions are no longer valid.
“The West Virginia Board of Education has not recognized religious exemptions to state compulsory vaccination requirements, absent court orders in specific counties, to attend public schools. The exception to this is the brief period in which last week’s ruling in Raleigh County Circuit Court was in effect,” Day said.
“This directive will be in effect until the Supreme Court issues further guidance,” the Department of Education said in a press release provided to The Defender.
In a statement cited by West Virginia Watch, Drew Galang, press secretary for Morrisey, said the governor’s office is reviewing Tuesday’s ruling.
“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,” Galang wrote.
Glaser said West Virginia’s “continued assault on religious freedom” is “deeply troubling.” He said Tuesday’s decision “represents yet another government overreach into matters of conscience.”
West Virginia ‘ground zero’ in nationwide battle over religious exemptions
Several other court cases in West Virginia have also targeted religious exemptions.
In October, a judge in Kanawha County ruled against a mother seeking a religious exemption for her son, finding that the governor does not have the authority to enact laws.
In May, the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia and Mountain State Justice sued state health officials over their enforcement of Morrisey’s order. In July, a West Virginia court dismissed that lawsuit on procedural grounds. In August, the organizations refiled their complaint.
In September, a Berkeley County judge declined to issue an injunction sought by nine families who wanted their local school board to accept their religious exemption requests. In October, the families sought voluntary dismissal of their case so that they could join the class-action lawsuit in Raleigh County.
Holland said that West Virginia has become “ground zero” in the nationwide battle over religious exemptions.
“I hope and expect the West Virginia Supreme Court will enforce the right to prior, free and informed consent — and if it doesn’t, then it will be up to the U.S. Supreme Court to decide this critical human rights issue,” Holland said.
Related articles in The Defender
Advocates for Religious Exemptions Notch Victories in West Virginia, Massachusetts
West Virginia Schools Ordered to Defy Governor on Religious Exemptions
‘Huge Win’: West Virginia Governor Issues Executive Order Allowing Religious Exemptions
Tennessee Says ‘No’ to Vaccinating Children Without Parental Consent
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