CHARLESTON — A third judge in West Virginia has ruled against the use of an executive order and the interpretation of a 2023 religious freedom law in order to create a religious exemption to the state’s compulsory vaccine law, eliminating one parent from joining a class action lawsuit.

Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge Richard Lindsay denied requests Friday morning by Kanawha County parent Nakesha Watson — who was absent for a second time — for a preliminary injunction against the Kanawha County Board of Education to force West Side Middle School to enroll her child and accept her religious exemption granted by the state Department of Health.

“The court finds that the plaintiff in this action is not likely to be successful given the fact that the compulsory vaccination law that’s at issue in

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