School Boards Sue Virginia Governor Over Decision to End Mask Mandate
Seven school boards have filed a lawsuit against Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). According to The Washington Post, the school boards are suing the governor to stop him from enforcing a mask-optional order, saying it…
Seven school boards have filed a lawsuit against Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).
According to The Washington Post, the school boards are suing the governor to stop him from enforcing a mask-optional order, saying it violates the Virginia Constitution.
Fairfax County Public Schools, whose system consists of 180,000 students, led the charge.
The Post reported the lawsuit “asks for an immediate injunction barring enforcement of Youngkin’s order, which sought to leave masking decisions to parents, contravening federal health guidance and the masking mandates that the vast majority of Virginia school districts have maintained throughout the pandemic.”
The school boards said in their complaint that Youngkin’s executive order violates Article 8, Section 7 of Virginia’s constitution, which states that “the supervision of schools in each school division shall be vested in a school board.”
They argued in a statement, “Without today’s action, school boards are placed in a legally untenable position.”
The statement continues, “Today’s action is not politically motivated … the lawsuit is not brought out of choice but out of necessity.”
On Friday, Youngkin issued a statement defending his order.