Vaccine Mandate In Red State Can Be Enforced Without Religious Exemptions, Federal Appeals Court Rules

A federal appeals court has upheld West Virginia’s school vaccination law without offering religious exemptions.

According to The Defender, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit overturned a lower court decision that had “temporarily allowed a child who had not received all the state-mandated vaccines to remain enrolled in an online public school.”

The court ruled in a 2-1 decision that the “state’s requirement that students be vaccinated against a range of infectious diseases does not violate the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom,” the outlet stated.

Appeals court upholds West Virginia vaccine mandate, denies religious exemption pic.twitter.com/saLX1G7Gvz

— Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) April 13, 2026

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Anthony and Krystle Perry brought the case on behalf of their daughter, who was enrolled in West Virginia Virtual Academy, an online public school, but was later disenrolled after school officials determined she was not fully vaccinated.

The parents, who argued that vaccinating their child conflicted