CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia senators voted to dismantle one of the nation’s strictest school vaccination policies Friday by greenlighting an exemption for families who say mandated inoculations conflict with their religious or philosophical beliefs.

A bill to create a religious exemption for school children's vaccination requirements has passed the West Virginia Senate.

The West Virginia Senate passed a bill allowing vaccination exemptions in public schools to accommodate religious conviction or moral grounds.