## Facts

- Wyoming required specified immunizations for school attendance but allowed waivers for medical contraindication or religious objection under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 21-4-309(a).
- Susan LePage sought a religious exemption from the hepatitis B vaccination requirement for her minor daughter by submitting a written request to the Department of Health.
- The State Health Officer postponed a decision and requested additional information to confirm that “faith” was the basis for the request, asking LePage to define her beliefs as religious and explain consistent religious practice.
- LePage submitted a second letter that largely restated her concerns.
- The Department denied the exemption and advised that the child could not attend school if not immunized.
- At an administrative hearing, the hearing examiner concluded the objections were personal or philosophical rather than religious and upheld the denial.
- The matter reached the Wyoming Supreme Court for review of the agency action.

## Issues

1. Whether Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 21-4-309(a) mandates issuance of an immunization waiver upon submission of written evidence of religious objection, or permits the Department to investigate the sincerity or religious character of the applicant’s beliefs.
2. Whether the Department acted beyond its statutory authority (and thus arbitrarily or capriciously) by denying a requested religious waiver after applying a sincerity-based inquiry.

## Decision

- The Wyoming Supreme Court reversed the agency’s denial.
- The court held the statute’s wording is clear and mandatory: waivers “shall be authorized” upon submission of written evidence of religious objection.
- The Department exceeded its statutory authority by conditioning issuance on additional requirements and by conducting a sincerity or religiosity inquiry not found in the statute.
- Because the statute resolved the dispute, the court did not decide broader constitutional questions.

## Legal Principles

- When a statute provides that a waiver “shall be authorized” upon submission of written evidence of religious objection, the agency must issue the waiver upon receipt of such written submission.
- An administrative agency may not add substantive prerequisites or conduct a religious-sincerity assessment absent express statutory authorization.
- Agency action that applies a statute contrary to its unambiguous text exceeds statutory authority and is reversible under administrative-law review standards.

## Conclusion

The court construed § 21-4-309(a) as requiring issuance of a school immunization exemption upon a written religious objection and held that the Department unlawfully expanded the statute by testing sincerity and denying the waiver on that basis.


LePage v. State Dep’t of Health, 18 P.3d 1177 (Wyo. 2001)