The Virginia Supreme Court on Monday ruled against a group of Chesapeake parents fighting Gov. Glenn Youngkin鈥檚 ban on mask mandates in schools.
The court ruled that the parents group had no grounds for its suit, because it challenged Youngkin鈥檚 executive order, issued on his first day in office, seeking a (forcing an official to fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion) and a (stopping a body from exercising power it does not have).
The court said a writ of prohibition didn鈥檛 apply because that generally applies to courts, and that a writ of mandamus didn鈥檛 apply, because the parents hadn鈥檛 shown 鈥渁 clear and unequivocal duty鈥� that Youngkin hadn鈥檛 fulfilled.
鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely technical,鈥� said Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond. 鈥淎nd it isn’t really a ruling on the merits, but highly technical in terms of the relief that the petitioners sought.鈥�
Youngkin and Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares are battling in court on multiple fronts to defend the executive order. But the ruling is far from definitive. The Supreme Court said in its order, 鈥淏y this dismissal, we offer no opinion on the legality of [the executive order] or any other issue pertaining to petitioners鈥� claims.鈥�
Kevin Martingayle, a lawyer who filed the petition on behalf of the Chesapeake parents, said the ruling is only a procedural defeat, and noted language in the court’s opinion suggesting that local school boards have 鈥渁 degree of discretion鈥� under state law on whether to impose mandates.
鈥淭his is far from over,鈥� Martingayle said in a statement.
Several lawsuits still apply against Youngkin鈥檚 ban, including one by seven school districts 鈥� Alexandria, Arlington County, Richmond, Fairfax County, Falls Church, Hampton and Prince William County 鈥� which was upheld by a Circuit Court judge last week, putting a temporary halt on Youngkin鈥檚 order.
Youngkin and Miyares have said they’ll appeal that decision, and Tobias cautioned against using Monday’s ruling as a sign either way. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you can tell鈥� how the Supreme Court will rule in the appeals of the Arlington Circuit Court ruling, Tobias said. 鈥淎nd so we鈥檒l have to see what happens.鈥�
Still, Miyares said in a statement that he and Youngkin were 鈥減leased with today鈥檚 ruling,鈥� calling the dismissal of the parents’ lawsuit 鈥渁 victory for Virginia families.鈥�
Tobias鈥� advice to parents confused by the legal back-and-forth? 鈥淪ee what your local school board is doing, and then try to persuade them otherwise, if you are not happy with what the school board is doing.鈥�
The Associated Press contributed to this report.聽
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