By: Tyler Butt
Earlier this Year, Virginia’s Governor Glenn Youngkin singed Executive Order 2. Which, as of January 24th ends mask mandates in Virginia Schools.[1] Executive Order 2 states that the reason to end Virginia’s school masking policy now is because “recent government orders requiring every virtually every child in Virginia to wear masks virtually at every moment they school have proven ineffective and impractical.” [2]
However, Executive Order 2 has not been welcomed by all. Already, Executive Order 2 has been subjected to legal challenges from groups ranging from the ACLU to parents.[3] Specifically, there is one legal challenge, that the Virginia Legislature just addressed.
After Executive Order 2 was issued, seven of Virginia’s school districts filed suit and challenged the order.[4] Claiming, in part, that Governor Youngkin “overstepped a lawfully adopted statue with his recent executive order.”[5] The statue that Youngkin is said to have violated is a Virginia law that passed in 2021 which requires each Virginia school board to offer in-person instruction to “the maximum extent practicable and to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”[6] This is important because currently, the Centers for Disease Control recommends universal masking of anyone that is two years and/or older. [7]
It appears that those legal challenges, specifically the legal challenge by the seven school boards have noticed by the Virginia Legislature. As on February 8th, the democratically held Virginia Senate made a step towards putting the language from Executive Order 2 into statute. The Senate did so by passing an amendment to a bill that would be “giving parents the ability to choose whether their children wear mask in schools without providing an excuse and regardless of the rules adopted by local school boards.” [8]
Introduced by Democratic state Senator Chap Peterson, the amendment has been added to a bill that already would require school boards to permanently offer in-person instruction.[9]The amendment also states that any parent with a child enrolled in a public school, or any school-based early childhood care program could elect to send their child to the classroom without a mask. [10] Senator Peterson’s amendment was well received in the senate and obtained a 29-9 vote of approval. [11]
A day later July 9th, the democratically held Senate passed the bill. The bill is now expected to pass the republican held House of Delegates and to be signed into law by Governor Youngkin. [12] If passed without an emergency clause, the law would go into effect sometime in July of this year.
Mask Mandates in schools is a divisive issue for Virginians’ and for American citizens in other states.[13] Currently in the United States, states are divided on how to best treat the issue. Recently, more states have enacted measures that would allow the same type of parental choice when it comes to kids wearing masks in schools while some other states are doubling down on masking in school policy. [14]
There are social and developmental costs of masking children in schools. For example, masks are known to affect brain development in young children. Particularly masks affect how children learn to speak, listen, and interact with one another. [15]
Furthermore, in relation to what the rest of the world does regarding masking in schools and what the United States does, the United States is alone in requiring masks for young children in schools. For all intents and purposes The United States is an international outlier in this regard. For example, “the European equivalent of the CDC does not recommend them (masks) for children under the age of 12.” [16]
[1] https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/governor-of-virginia/pdf/eo/EO-2-School-Mask-Mandate-Executive-Order-Exception.pdf
[2] https://www.governor.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/governor-of-virginia/pdf/eo/EO-2-School-Mask-Mandate-Executive-Order-Exception.pdf
[3] https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/virginia/aclu-virginia-files-federal-lawsuit-gov-youngkins-executive-order-lifting-mask-mandates-public-schools/65-92ce6cba-a4ab-4bb8-8f3e-a9c14609f60f
[4] https://wset.com/news/at-the-capitol/seven-virginia-schools-file-lawsuit-challenging-governor-glenn-youngkins-executive-order-mask-mandate-alexandria-richmond-fairfax-prince-william-county-hampton
[5] https://wset.com/news/at-the-capitol/seven-virginia-schools-file-lawsuit-challenging-governor-glenn-youngkins-executive-order-mask-mandate-alexandria-richmond-fairfax-prince-william-county-hampton
[6] https://wset.com/news/at-the-capitol/seven-virginia-schools-file-lawsuit-challenging-governor-glenn-youngkins-executive-order-mask-mandate-alexandria-richmond-fairfax-prince-william-county-hampton
[7] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-guidance.html#:~:text=CDC%20recommends%20universal%20indoor%20masking%20by%20all*%20students%20(ages%202,schools%2C%20regardless%20of%20vaccination%20status.
[8] https://www.wric.com/news/politics/capitol-connection/virginia-senate-approves-amendment-that-may-spell-end-to-school-mask-mandates/
[9] https://www.wric.com/news/politics/capitol-connection/virginia-senate-approves-amendment-that-may-spell-end-to-school-mask-mandates/
[10] https://www.wric.com/news/politics/capitol-connection/virginia-senate-approves-amendment-that-may-spell-end-to-school-mask-mandates/
[11] https://www.wric.com/news/politics/capitol-connection/virginia-senate-approves-amendment-that-may-spell-end-to-school-mask-mandates/
[12] https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/02/08/virginia-masks-schools-senate-democrats/
[13] https://news.gallup.com/poll/354203/parents-divided-mask-mandates-school.aspx
[14] https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/governor-ending-jerseys-school-mask-mandate-82725692
[15] https://www.npr.org/2022/01/28/1075842341/growing-calls-to-take-masks-off-children-in-school
[16] https://www.npr.org/2022/01/28/1075842341/growing-calls-to-take-masks-off-children-in-school