Northern Virginia School Boards Stand Against Science
Meanwhile VA State Senator Chap Petersen and Governor Glenn Youngkin Stand with Students
In an anti-science and anti-child move, the Fairfax County School Board joined the Alexandria City, Arlington County, Falls Church City, Hampton City, Prince William County and Richmond City school boards on January 24, 2022, to file a complaint against Governor Glenn Youngkin. The seven school boards asked the Court to issue a judgment declaring that the provisions of Executive Order 2 (EO2) pertaining to local school boards are contrary to the Constitution of Virginia and a law enacted by the General Assembly, and that the Governor be enjoined from further enforcement of EO2.
Rather than allowing parents the right to choose what is best for their children, these school boards sought the power to force children to wear masks indefinitely despite mounting evidence about the negative health effects of masking developing children (which parents have been talking about for almost two years) and the fact that mask wearing in schools does not impact the spread of COVID. You can read about that here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and many other places. Even deep blue states like New Jersey, California, Delaware, Connecticut, and Oregon are getting in on the trend to drop mask mandates in schools.
But not school boards in Northern Virginia.
On Friday, February 4, 2022, Arlington County Circuit Court Judge Louise DiMatteo, ruled in favor of the seven counties seeking to assert an alleged constitutional right to mask children forever.
It should be noted that Judge DiMatteo entered this ruling despite a conflict of interest and failing to recuse herself.
However, Virginia Senator Chap Petersen, making good on his January 24, 2022, promise to have the General Assembly step in if the school boards do not “define an ‘off ramp’ for mandatory masking,” just secured a win for students throughout Virginia. With a 29-9 vote, the Virginia Senate today approved an amendment to SB 739 which will give parents the right to choose if their kids wear masks. It is expected that the GOP-controlled Virginia House of Delegates will pass the amendment. A spokeswoman for Governor Youngkin has stated that he plans to add an emergency clause which would, if the legislature approves the addition of the emergency clause, allow the amendment to be implemented immediately. Masks could be optional for children in the state of Virginia as early as February 21, 2022.
“This law would basically codify the executive order,” Virginia Senator Siobhan Dunnavant said.
While the process will play out over the coming week or two, it is clear that this was a bipartisan rebuke of the school boards fighting to keep kids masked indefinitely. School board members should take notice.
And for those who want to know a bit more about Senator Chap Petersen, we will leave you with this gem of a letter which he sent to Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand on February 7, 2022.
