Despite protests and lawsuits from a small handful of school boards and parents around the Commonwealth, Gov. Glenn Youngkin finally succeeded in restoring rights to parents by signing a bipartisan bill making masks optional in school no later than March 1.
There was some more vindication as well when a court in Loudoun County ordered that the governor’s original school mask executive order, from back in January, was perfectly valid and that districts needed to fall in line immediately and give students the choice to opt-out as of today.
First, the details on the state law which easily passed the Democrat-controlled Virginia state Senate with bipartisan support, making the issue an even bigger victory for Youngkin:
Masks will be optional in all Virginia schools starting no later than March 1 after the Virginia House of Delegates voted to include an emergency amendment from Gov. Glenn Youngkin to a bill that already passed in the General Assembly.
The vote on Senate Bill 739 was 52-48 on Wednesday afternoon. Gov. Youngkin signed the bill around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
The bill was previously approved by both houses of the legislature, but originally had a date of July 1 for masks to be optional. One of the amendments says localities must now comply by no later than March 1.
Youngkin went out of his way to make the point with a signing ceremony on Wednesday, backed by students and parents:
Despite the devastating loss for the Covid authoritarians, some Democrats were still grumbling about the matter saying that school boards should have ultimate authority, not parents:
Although the bill passed with bipartisan support, many Democrats still strongly oppose the measure. Del. Marcia Price, a Democrat who represents Newport News and Hampton, calls this bill an overstep of state power.
“Taking the decisions out of the hands of those that were elected at the local level to make those decisions, I think is an overreach of our power,” said Price. “I just really hope that they got their calculations right that this will not be putting actual lives at risk but my fear is that it is.”
People like Del. Marcia Price would never have allowed students to go back to normal at any time in the near future. She is anti-science, as are many Democrats on this issue, and do not have a problem with the hypocrisy of unmasking society everywhere else, but continuing to damage educational development in the school setting.
Youngkin’s view has been very clear from the beginning. If you want to mask your child or your child wants to wear one, then, by all means, wear a mask. On the other side, the decision of not wearing a mask should also be respected considering the vast and overwhelming scientific evidence which says it’s incredibly safe and prudent to remove masks in schools and stop harming children.
Youngkin’s bill was to take effect no later than March 1, giving districts time to adjust their verbiage and policies. That time frame is a little generous considering these rogue districts have had since January to “read the room” and realize they would end up on the losing end of this battle.
A judge in Loudoun County circuit court, however, has sped the timeline up to make masks optional as of today by affirming Youngkin’s original executive order from back in January and ordering school districts to fall in line immediately:
A Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge on Wednesday granted an injunction overturning Loudoun County Public Schools’ mask policy, ruling that students may attend without wearing a facial mask if their parents decide they should not wear one.
Hours later, Superintendent Scott Ziegler wrote in a letter to students, staff and parents, that students may continue wearing masks, but will not be required to do so starting on Thursday.
“The decision of whether to wear a mask or not is deeply personal for many families, we ask that you respect the decision of others. No one should be made to feel uncomfortable about their choice,” Ziegler wrote.
Since last year, Virginia has been leading the fight against rogue school boards usurping parental rights and abusing children with endless masking and torturous treatment.
On another note, students who were suspended or punished in previous weeks for not wearing masks despite the governor’s order making them optional will have those incidents stricken from their records. That’s the least these school districts can do.
If Youngkin keeps racking up victories like this, he’s got a very bright future ahead of him beyond his time as term-limited Governor.
