By Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Bipartisan efforts to amend a bill that will allow parents and guardians religious and conscientious objections to West Virginia’s mandatory immunization schedule for public, private, and religious schools all went down in flames Tuesday.
Members of the West Virginia Senate considered several amendments Tuesday afternoon to Senate Bill 460, relating to vaccine requirements. The bill will be on third reading and up for passage in the Senate today.
SB 460 would allow parents and guardians to object to the requirements of the state’s program for compulsory immunization of public and private school children by citing a religious or philosophical belief. The bill allows children to continue to participate in extracurricular activities and it allows for civil suits against schools that discriminate against these students.
The bill allows the parent or guardian to present a written statement to the administrator of the child’s school or operator of a state-regulated child care center that the mandatory vaccination requirements cannot be met because it conflicts with the religious or philosophical beliefs of the parent, legal guardian, or emancipated child.
