Modifying the requirements for compulsory childhood immunizations to provide for exemptions based on religious and philosophical objections

HB 5378 Text

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House Bill 5378 History

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Key:
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= existing Code.
Red
= new code to be enacted

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2026
REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 5378
By Delegates Crouse and White
[Introduced February 09, 2026; referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources]
A BILL to amend and reenact §16-3-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to vaccinations; providing religious and philosophical exemptions to the immunization of school children; clarifying the procedure for exemption; requiring schools create and maintain a report on the number of exempt school children; and clarifying the duties of state health officer and Commissioner of Bureau for Public Health.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 3. PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF COMMUNICABLE AND OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES.

§16-3-4. Compulsory immunization of school children; information disseminated; offenses; penalties.

(a) Whenever a resident birth occurs, the
commissioner

State Health Officer
shall promptly provide parents of the newborn child with information on immunizations mandated by this state or required for admission to
a public, private, and parochial
school
("school")
in this state or a state-regulated child care center.
(b)
Except as hereinafter provided, a

A
child entering school or a state-regulated child care center in this state must be immunized against chickenpox, hepatitis-b, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus, and whooping cough
except as otherwise set forth in this section.
(c) No child or person may be admitted or received in any of the schools of the state or a state-regulated child care center until he or she has been immunized against chickenpox, hepatitis-b, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus, and whooping cough or produces a
certificate from the commissioner

written statement
granting the child or person an exemption from the compulsory immunization requirements of this section,
as provided in subsection (f).
(d) Any school or state-regulated child care center personnel having information concerning any person who attempts to be enrolled in a school or state-regulated child care center without having been immunized against chickenpox, hepatitis-b, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough shall report the names of all such persons to the commissioner.
(e) Persons may be provisionally enrolled under minimum criteria established by the commissioner so that the person's immunization may be completed while missing a minimum amount of school. No person shall be allowed to enter school without at least one dose of each required vaccine
(f)
(d)
County health departments shall furnish the biologicals for this immunization for children of parents or guardians who attest that they cannot afford or otherwise access vaccines elsewhere.
(g)
(e)
Health officers and physicians who provide vaccinations must present the person vaccinated with a certificate free of charge showing that they have been immunized against chickenpox,
hepatitis-b
measles,
meningitis
, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus, and whooping cough, or he or she may give the certificate to any person or child whom he or she knows to have been immunized against chickenpox,
hepatitis-b
measles,
meningitis
, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus, and whooping cough.
(h) The commissioner is authorized to grant, renew, condition, deny, suspend, or revoke exemptions to the compulsory immunization requirements of this section, on a statewide basis, upon sufficient medical evidence that immunization is contraindicated or there exists a specific precaution to a particular vaccine.
(1) A request for an exemption to the compulsory immunization requirements of this section must be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician stating that the physical condition of the child is such that immunization is contraindicated or there exists a specific precaution to a particular vaccine.
(2) The commissioner is authorized to appoint and employ an Immunization Officer to make determinations on request for an exemption to the compulsory immunization requirements of this section, on a statewide basis, and delegate to the Immunization Officer the authority granted to the commissioner by this subsection.
(3) A person appointed and employed as the Immunization Officer must be a physician licensed under the laws of this state to practice medicine.
(4) The Immunization Officer's decision on a request for an exemption to the compulsory immunization requirements of this section may be appealed to the State Health Officer.
(5) The final determination of the State Health Officer is subject to a right of appeal pursuant to the provisions of article five, chapter twenty-nine a of this code.
(i) A physician who provides any person with a false certificate of immunization against chickenpox, hepatitis-b, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $100
(f) A child shall be exempt from the mandatory immunization requirements of this section as to a specific immunization for any period of time as to which a licensed physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner provides a written statement to the administrator of the child’s school or to the operator of the state-regulated child care center that a specific immunization is or may be detrimental to the child’s health or is not appropriate.
(1) A licensing board shall not take any disciplinary action against a licensed physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who provides a written statement as set forth in this subsection;
(2) A licensed physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant whose actions under this section are taken in good faith is immune from civil liability related to the statement issued pursuant to this subsection, unless his or her actions were the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct; and
(3) A licensed physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who provides a written statement as set forth in this subsection shall report to the state health office the number of children granted an exemption from compulsory immunizations and the county in which that child resides. The State Health Officer shall report such information annually by December 1, to the Joint Committee on Health.
(g) A school or state-regulated child care center may not prohibit a child exercising an exemption pursuant to this section from participating in extracurricular activities or from attending school-based events.
(h) A person harmed by a violation of this section by a public school may seek injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to modify the requirements for compulsory childhood immunizations to provide for exemptions based on religious and philosophical objections.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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