Fox Newsâ Peter Doocy pressed White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki about who President Joe Biden believes should be in charge of making decisions about mask wearing for students.
During a press briefing on Monday, Doocy noted that several school boards are suing Virginia to reinstate a mask mandate.
He asked, âWho does the president thinks knows best for students: School board members or parents?â
âThe president believes that public health officials have the best guidance on what we could all do to protect ourselves,â Psaki said. âItâs always been up to local school districts to determine how theyâre going to approach what measures theyâre going to put into place.â
She went on to note public health officials say mask wearing in schools helps reduce transmission of the virus and âwe know it works.â
Doocy noted, âRight in Virginia, the law is â now that thereâs a new governor â that students should not have to wear masks if their parents say that they donât think they need to wear masks.â
âSo if a parent wants to send their kid to school with no mask, should that child be allowed to go to school?â he asked.
Psaki responded, âWhat weâre advising school districts is to abide by public health guidelines and follow public health guidelines. And itâs about keeping an entire community safe.â
Watch the exchange below:
Doocy then claimed that Psaki was stating that the administration believes that school board members âshould have more of a sayâ than parents.
However, Psaki pushed back, âThatâs actually not what I said. I think everybody should abide by public health guidelines, not just to keep their own kids safe but keep their school community safe.â
On his first day in office, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) issued an executive order that leaves the decision on whether students have to wear masks up to their parents.
As The Washington Post notes, the order, which was set to go into effect on Monday, âcontravenes federal health guidance and masking requirements maintained by the vast majority of Virginia school districts throughout the coronavirus pandemic, is in keeping with Youngkinâs campaign promise to give parents greater control over all aspects of their childrenâs education.â
