As many of you are aware by now, the House of Delegates rejected Senate Bill 460 which would have allowed religious and philosophical exemptions for school vaccines. This has undoubtedly been one of the most controversial bills of the 2025 legislative session, especially following state senate passage on February 21 by a 20-12 vote. Once the bill moved to the House, the interest and coverage intensified. This included a marathon hearing in the House Health and Human Resources Committee where members of the public and health community spoke on the bill, with good numbers representing both sides of the argument. Once SB 460 made its way to the floor, no less than 18 amendments were proposed. Following a long and lively debate, the bill was ultimately rejected by the House on a 42-56 roll call vote.

In the aftermath, what are we to make of SB 460? There were strong arguments for both sides of the issue. When I was looking for guidance myself on the issue, I consulted with a Christian medical professional who is a former Christian school mother. Her statement to me was that all of her kids had been vaccinated at the required ages; however, she was concerned with the contents of more present day vaccines, and would think twice about vaccinations if her children were younger now. On the other hand, I was moderately surprised by the response I received from numerous Christian education administrators that I informally surveyed in the days and weeks leading up to the showdown on this bill. While I talked to two administrators who were in favor of passage, I also spoke with a number of administrators or school principals who were opposed. Their reasons varied somewhat. Some like the current format where every student is under the same regulations. Others cited health concerns. Most also mentioned the controversy that would ensue, where some students were vaccinated and some were not. There was also a fear that schools might suffer a loss of enrollment. One on the other side of the argument, the two in favor of passage thought they would gain students.

What was also somewhat surprising was the fact that although the bill was labeled as a religious freedom bill, most of the pastors, administrators, and numerous legislators that I run into in my frequent travels through the capitol didn’t see SB 460 as a battle against religious freedom. The vast majority stated that while there was a religious liberty component to the bill, SB 460 was a personal freedom bill more than religious freedom legislation. 

So, what’s next? With the demise of SB 460, vaccination legislation is probably dead for the 2025 legislative regular session. There are some more bills that are similar to SB 460 in the pipeline; however, with the failure of this bill, I don’t foresee House or Senate leadership being too motivated to push any of them, especially with only two weeks left in this session. This leaves us with the executive order regarding vaccines that the Governor signed earlier this year that he stated would not be rescinded, which does most of the things SB 460 would have done. While we sort out the details of the executive order, is there also the possibility that the executive order could be subject to a legal challenge now the legislation failed? The Governor has also indicated that he might call the legislature into special session this summer. Stay tuned. Seems like this story may not be over yet