Virginia’s freshly inaugurated governor, Glenn Youngkin, signed executive orders removing school masking requirements across the state on Saturday afternoon. Since that moment, Arlington and Alexandria school systems have joined Fairfax County Public Schools in reminding families that masking policies remain in place.
Youngkin’s list of day one executive orders put the power to decide if students should wear a mask squarely into the hands of parents across the state.
“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,”.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki, in response to coverage from 草莓传媒’s Nick Iannelli on Sunday, voiced her support for the move as an Arlington County parent 鈥� a title, she noted, newly minted governor Glenn Youngkin does not have.
“Thank you to [Arlington Public Schools] for standing up for our kids, teachers and administrators and their safety in the midst of a transmissible variant,” Psaki wrote.
Hi there. Arlington county parent here (don鈥檛 believe you are but correct me if I am wrong). Thank you to for standing up for our kids, teachers and administrators and their safety in the midst of a transmissible variant.
鈥� Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki)
Virginia Delegate Patrick Hope of Arlington County also responded to Gov. Youngkin’s statement in a discussion with 草莓传媒. He said that the state’s governor has “no authority at all” to determine how mask mandates operate at individual school systems.
“We are governed by the Virginia code,” Hope told 草莓传媒. “And the Virginia code states very clearly that school districts should adhere by the CDC’s recommendations.”
鈥淣o authority at all.鈥� Delegate Patrick Hope of Arlington County responds to Governor Youngkin who said he may use state resources to try to force the county鈥檚 school system to comply with his order – which effectively removes school mask mandates.
鈥� Nick Iannelli (@Nick草莓传媒)
Less than 12 hours after Virginia’s first Republican governor since 2009 entered office and signed those executive orders, Arlington Public Schools announced that their mask mandates are still in effect.
Citing the state’s bipartisan Senate Bill 1303, the school system said that students would remain bound to mask requirements within their bounds. The bill, , encourages in-person instruction using mitigation strategies provided by the Centers for Disease Control. Those strategies continue to include .
“Arlington Public Schools implemented our mask requirement this school year prior to Gov. Northam鈥檚 K-12 mask mandate, and we will continue to make decisions that prioritize the health, safety and well-being of our students and staff, following the guidance of local and national health professionals,” .
Alexandria City schools followed suit, saying they would also be keeping their mask requirement in place.
“ACPS 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,” the school system said on Twitter.
Nearbysaid while it is reviewing the governor’s order, right now its universal mask mandate does remain in place.
“Our layered prevention strategies have proven effective in keeping transmission rates low in our schools, and we will continue to use data and science to guide our decision-making,” FCPS said in a statement.
Responding to a question posed 草莓传媒’s Nick Ianelli 鈥� who has been traveling with the governor for inauguration weekend 鈥� Youngkin said he would use state resources to force the school systems to comply, though he did not specify how.
Exclusive: Gov. Youngkin on Arlington school system saying it will require masks, despite Youngkin鈥檚 order stating that schools can鈥檛 do that. He threatened to use state resources to force schools to comply 鈥� but we still don鈥檛 know what that means exactly.
鈥� Nick Iannelli (@Nick草莓传媒)
“We wrote the order specifically to give all the school systems, basically, eight days to get ready 鈥� to listen to parents,” Youngkin said. “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 and will do to ensure parents’ rights are protected.”
While the statements from the school systems do and remain active throughout the coming school week, they aren’t without challenge 鈥� though no district has made its plans to fight this new executive order clear.
Only one school system in the metropolitan area has issued a statement acknowledging a shift in mask requirements by Jan. 24. That system in Stafford County said that it will continue enforcing mask mandates until the order takes effect and that it has other mitigation strategies in place.
“We must recognize that constant change and uncertainty are difficult for some to process, and that consistency must be maintained to the greatest extent possible,” Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor said .
Across Virginia, school systems like Henrico County have continued to update or embolden their policies ahead of the Jan. 24 policy change date. However, Loudoun and Prince William counties have not released statements regarding the mask mandates for their public school systems.
If the other public school systems decide to continue their mask mandates after that date, they will enter direct conflict with this statewide directive 鈥� it remains unclear what could arise from decisions to disobey the executive order.
The Virginia governor’s day one signature included other contentious items like the state’s climate change infrastructure and a plan to combat critical race theory in public education.
草莓传媒’s Nick Ianelli and Zeke Hartner contributed to this report.
