This is outrageous.
A number of Virginia’s largest school districts said they would be ignoring newly appointed Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive order, which gives parents the right to choose if their child will wear a mask in the classroom.
Speaking to Fox News on Monday (January 17), Cato Institute vice president Ilya Shapiro, who supports the governor’s order, revealed he “wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a lawsuit filed tomorrow by certain school boards against the executive order.”
On Saturday (January 15), Youngkin signed an executive order that would give parent authority over their child wearing a mask in schools, but the move was almost immediately resisted by four Public School districts, namely Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS), Arlington Public Schools (APS), Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), and Richmond Public Schools (RPS). The four districts said they would not be implementing Youngkin’s order, choosing to maintain existing mask mandates.
Two of the school districts –– ACPS and FCPS –– cited CDC guidelines regarding wearing a mask in schools. RPS revealed it would be keeping the 100% mask mandate for learners, visitors, and teachers. Whereas, immediately following the Governor signing the order, the APS released a statement on its website, saying, “Arlington Public Schools will continue to require all staff and students to wear masks inside on school grounds and buses, as part of our layered approach to safety.”
APS elaborated on its stance, saying the Governor couldn’t make this kind of order since Virginia’s laws required schools in the state to follow the CDC’s mask-wearing recommendation.
The school district would also cite SB1303, which details how schools must adhere to any applicable mitigation strategies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
