After becoming the first Republican Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia since 2009, Glenn Youngkin signed 11 executive orders — addressing Critical Race Theory in public schools, mask requirements, vaccine mandates, and other key parental rights issues.
One executive action signed by the newly sworn-in governor explicitly prohibits local school districts from infringing upon the right of parents to decide whether their child wears a mask in the classroom. The order reads:
- The parents of any child enrolled in a elementary or secondary school or a school based early childcare and educational program may elect for their children not to be subject to any mask mandate in effect at the child’s school or educational program.
- No parent electing that a mask mandate should not apply to his or her child shall be required to provide a reason or make any certification concerning their child’s health or education.
- A child whose parent has elected that he or she is not subject to a mask mandate should not be required to wear a mask under any policy implemented by a teacher, school, school district, the Department of Education, or any other state authority.
In defiance of the order, three public school systems in Northern Virginia have announced that mask requirements for students and staff will be upheld. Arlington Public Schools were the first to show blatant disregard for the order, posting this tweet just hours after Youngkin’s inaugural speech:
@APSVirginia will maintain our current mask requirement for students, staff and visitors. Masks 😷 required inside our facilities and on school buses. Full post ➡️ https://t.co/VNWoSQKPeF
— Arlington Public Schools (@APSVirginia) January 15, 2022
Daily Caller Contributor Chrissy Clark requested a statement from APS indicating the studies used by the district to reach the decision. The communications director for APS responded in error, recommending the district not respond because “it won’t get [the district] anywhere.”
I emailed @APSVirginia asking what data/studies they used to conclude that masks are effective at keeping transmission rates low. Their communications director accidentally responded to @DailyCaller stating that responding to us “won’t get [the district] anywhere.” pic.twitter.com/yGDpgQJpHv
— Chrissy Clark (@chrissyclark_) January 17, 2022
The decision by APS to force-mask children drew praise from current White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki:
Hi there. Arlington county parent here (don’t believe you are @GlennYoungkin but correct me if I am wrong). Thank you to @APSVirginia for standing up for our kids, teachers and administrators and their safety in the midst of a transmissible variant. https://t.co/6UeNIYoZCU
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) January 17, 2022
Fairfax County Public Schools and Alexandria City Public Schools have also doubled down on unscientific mask requirements.
Children’s Health Defense has cited numerous studies that highlight both the psychological and physical harm of excessive mask use for children. In addition to the impact of mask-wearing on cognitive precision, thousands of child development specialists and medical professionals have found face masks raise carbon dioxide levels in the blood while increasing hypoxia risk.
During a press conference, Governor Youngkin reaffirmed that he will “use every resource within the governor’s authority to explore what we can do . . . in order to make sure that parents’ rights are protected.” Jack Preis, a law professor at the University of Richmond, weighed in on the conflict over public school mask edicts:
It is likely a parent in Richmond or Henrico could challenge the mask orders citing Youngkin’s action, a battle that has the potential to end in court, Preis said. If that happens, it would likely be decided by the Virginia Supreme Court through appeals.
Similar orders issued in the Lone Star State by Texas Governor Greg Abbott have recently been flouted by localities as businesses in the city of Austin are now mandated to post whether they require masks or proof of vaccination. Abbott’s refusal to call a special legislative session and codify a ban on mask or vaccine mandates has caused job loss for numerous Texans.
Time will reveal the victor of the looming battle between school administrators and parents in Virginia, but Youngkin stated the action allows eight days for the state’s school systems to align with his order.
Jacob Ornelas is a journalist, social media influencer, and contributor to Def-Con News. He has built a following of over 95,000 on the social media platform TikTok where he delivers daily headlines without the “legacy media spin.” His video podcast can be found exclusively on Instagram @PatriotJakey.
