Seven school district councils in Virginia are suing newly inaugurated Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) over an order that effectively eliminates mask requirements for students in the state’s public schools.
School boards, including Fairfax County, the state’s largest school district, filed lawsuit v. Youngkin Monday, challenging the Governor’s ability to “unilaterally override” decisions by local school districts to require masks to be worn for the safety of students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lawsuit, filed in Arlington County District Court, also alleges that Youngkin cannot reverse the court’s decision. State Senate bill this requires local Virginia school boards to follow the health and safety guidelines of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as they provide face-to-face instruction.
That CDC leadership recommends “universal indoor mask-wearing by all” students, staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools “regardless of vaccination status.”
On the Yankin’s first day at the office, Jan 15, he issued an executive order stating that any parent can “elect that their children are not subject to any mask-wearing regulations” in schools, and that they do not need to “give a reason or make any confirmation” to do so .
In response to the lawsuit, Youngkin spokesman Macaulay Porter said the governor’s administration was “disappointed that these school boards are ignoring parental rights” and plans to “aggressively defend” their position “as the lawsuit concludes.”
Cases of coronavirus across the country remain close to record high as the micron variant spreads. Even though the number of cases has started to decline from its highest level in recent days, an average of more than 2,000 people in the US still die from the virus each day.
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