School districts across Virginia were taking stock Sunday of the implications of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order that seeks to end mask mandates in schools, with a number of school systems saying they will continue to require masks.
On Saturday, shortly after Youngkin took office as Virginia’s 74th governor, he issued nine executive orders, one of which ends the statewide COVID-19 mask mandate in K-12 schools beginning January 24.
In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Youngkin said he will “consider all options” to preserve an opt-out for parents from local school mask mandates amid resistance from some school districts and some Democrats who say state law requires Virginia to follow federal guidance that recommends masks in schools.
Arlington Public Schools was one of the very first school districts to let the new governor know they intended to continue to abide by the health and safety guidelines of the CDC and local health department, according to The Hill.
Youngkin’s executive order allows parents to opt their children out of any mask mandates at schools. Responding to Arlington Public Schools saying masks would still be required in schools and on buses, Youngkin accused the district of failing to listen to “parents.”
“The fact that that tweet came out from Arlington County within minutes of my executive order, what that tells me is they haven’t listened to parents yet,” Youngkin told a reporter, adding that he would look into enforcement measures this week.
Virginia House Del. Patrick Hope (D) questioned the legality of Youngkin’s order in an interview with WTOP over the weekend, arguing that state code compels schools to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends mask-wearing.
“The governor has no authority to exercise any control over Arlington Public School systems, or any other school system, on this matter,” he said. “The governor’s executive order has no authority at all.”
Quite a few school systems in the state are pushing back against Youngkin’s executive order, reports WTVR Richmond, including Richmond Public Schools. RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras tweeted Saturday afternoon: ”RPS_Schools will maintain its 100% mask mandate for students, staff, and visitors.”
The city of Alexandria’s school system said in a statement Sunday that it “will continue to abide by the health and safety guidelines of the CDC and the Alexandria Health Department and continue to require all individuals to wear masks that cover the nose and mouth in ACPS schools, facilities, and buses.”
Fairfax County’s school system, as well as Henrico County Public Schools also intend to continue to require students and staff to wear masks.
Not only did Youngkin rescind the mask mandate for schools – but he also rescinded the COVID vaccination requirement for state workers.
In a lengthy statement released Sunday afternoon, Youngkin wrote:
“First of all, we wrote the order specifically to give all schools system basically eight days to get ready, to listen to parents, and the fact that that tweet came out from Arlington county within minutes of my executive order what that tells me is that they didn’t listen to parents yet. If there is one thing that hopefully everybody heard in November, is it is time to listen to parents. Over the course of this week, I hope they will listen to parents because we will use every resource within the governor’s authority to explore what we can do and will do in order to make sure that parents’ rights are protected. The code of Virginia is really clear – parents have a right ot make decisions with regard to their children’s upbringing, education, and care – we are going to protect that right and so I just hope that Arlington county schools and the rest of the school systems around the Commonwealth of Virginia use this week to listen to parents and get prepared because we granted parents the option of deciding whether they want their child to wear a mask or not – and we are going to protect that right.”
