Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin made a surprise announcement on Jan. 15 pertaining to mask mandates in schools. But just weeks later, the boards of seven school districts in Virginia filed a lawsuit against the newly-elected governor.
Earlier this month, Youngkin said that parents should have the opportunity to decide whether their children should wear masks in school or not.
Glenn Youngkin faces lawsuit following his EO
In their lawsuit filed in the Arlington County Circuit Court, the seven school districts accused Youngkin of unilaterally infringing upon the decisions of the local schools to enforce mask mandates for staff and students to protect them amid COVID-19.
The complainants also claimed that Youngkin could not overrule a state Senate bill that requires Virginia's local school boards to follow the health and safety guidelines of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of press writing, the CDC recommends universal indoor masking by all students, staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools regardless of their vaccination status.
But Youngkin believes that there's no need to enforce mask mandates because parents are the ones that know their children best.
Glenn Youngkin's spokesperson says they will fight the lawsuit
The governor's spokesperson, Macaulay Porter, responded to the lawsuit saying that they are disappointed with the school districts for ignoring the rights of parents to make decisions for their children.
Porter also said that they would continue to defend their position as the legal process plays out, according to the Huffington Post.
School districts accuse Glenn Youngkin of prioritizing Republicans
But the school districts also released a statement saying that their lawsuit isn't politically motivated.
"Today's action is not politically motivated. These seven school divisions would welcome the opportunity to collaborate with the governor to ensure the safety and welfare of all students. This lawsuit is not brought out of choice, but out of necessity," they said via CNN.
Last week, a group of parents of public school students in Chesapeake filed a lawsuit to have the executive order blocked. They cited the CDC's guidelines and the laws of the state on in-person schooling policies as their reason why they do not support Youngkin's orders.
Earlier this week, a group of Virginia Democrats and parents of students also criticized Youngkin's executive order. They said the order would most likely disrupt the return to in-person learning that all parents, students, and school officials want to achieve.
Sen. Barbara Favola said that the ultimate goal is to keep children safe while in school. As such, they need to follow the directives of the CDC.
Sen. Mamie Locke also said that Youngkin threatened to cut money from school districts that will continue to enforce mask mandates. Locke added that Youngkin would do everything at his disposal to make sure that the mask mandate would be removed.
Del. Elizabeth Guzman accused Youngkin of appeasing the extreme far right-wing of the Republican Party instead of focusing on the welfare of the children.
Guzman said that she's also a parent, so she and her children know why mask mandates are necessary, according to WTOP.
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