An early win for school boards in mask mandate suit
A judge with the Arlington County Circuit Court has granted a temporary restraining order Feb. 4 against Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s ban on mask mandates.
The ruling by Judge Louise DiMatteo involves a lawsuit filed by seven school boards, including Fairfax County, Alexandria, Arlington County, Falls Church, Hampton Roads, Prince William County, and Richmond.
Related story: School boards sue governor over masks
The school boards objected to an executive order by Youngkin that calls for parents to determine whether their children should wear masks in school.
Under the restraining order, school districts’ mask mandates will stay in effect until the courts issue a final ruling.
According to a report by WTOP, the judge said the school boards “will likely succeed” on their claim that Youngkin’s executive order conflicted with, and could not supersede, Virginia law.
Related story: Brabrand defends mask mandate
Virginia enacted a law last March stating that, with the goal of returning students to in-person instruction five days a week, school boards should follow the health and safety guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recommends universal indoor masking in K-12 schools.
A statement by Fairfax County Public Schools says the temporary restraining order “takes immediate action to protect the health and well-being of all students and staff and reaffirms the constitutional right of Virginia’s local school boards to enact policy at the local level.”
Before the judge’s ruling, “Virginia school boards were placed in a legally untenable position – faced with an executive order in conflict with the state constitution and state law,” FCPS states. “That conflict has also put the health and safety of our students and staff at risk, as the Omicron variant continues to affect Virginia localities. We are confident that the court will soon come to the right decision to resolve this pressing matter.”
This won’t deter an opportunist and demagogue like Youngkin. He doesn’t care whether students, parents, teachers, and school staff come down with Covid-19 or schools have to switch to remote learning or even close. Youngkin is simply fanning the flames to keep his supporters riled up and ready to complain and protest. Like Florida Governor DeSantis and Texas Governor Abbott, he wants to ride anger to higher political office.
How sad. A real leader would encourage everyone eligible to get their Covid vaccines and boosters, wear masks, and socially distance as much as possible.
Apparently you didn’t get yesterday’s DNC memo. Now masks are so 2000-late.
Legally, this is not a simple matter and I can’t predict how it will go. Not only Virginia courts will be involved, but possibly the US Supreme Court when all is said and done.
But one critical thing is that the Virginia law says to follow the CDC Guidelines to the extent possible. And (1) the CDC does not actually say masks in schools without exception, although people like to imagine that (2) what does “extent possible” mean anyway, and (3) religious and medical exceptions are probably what’s going to be in play here, rather than some vague “parent’s rights to choose”.
According to the CDC, 770 deaths from coronavirus in children between the ages of 0 to 17 years thru the end of January out of a nearly 10-million known cases in the same age group. That is a rate of about 0.008% and doesn’t include unreported cases.
Contrast this with the difficulty children have with coping with masks, the awkward social interactions due to not being able to read facial expressions, the moist environment behind the mask that provides an ideal breeding ground for many illnesses, and you have a mandate that makes total sense. Thank you Governor for doing what you promised to over half of the Virginians who voted for you.
If you believe masks work, send your child to school with the mask. They will be protected from the happy, healthy children who are not wearing them.
I have grandchildren and teach kids 3-7. The kids have no problem wearing masks. It’s only adults I hear whining. I’m 65 with asthma and I teach dance, so move a lot and run. I have no problem wearing a mask. If I get sweaty I can hit the bathroom and rinse my face off. If I need a break between classes I can duck outside. You can sneak a mask break in a bathroom stall if you must. Sitting at a desk with a mask on shouldn’t be that hard. I think people are looking for excuses to do whatever they want to do. Bonus is wearing a mask has kept my allergies at bay & I haven’t caught any colds since people started wearing masks (kids can be pretty germy!).
Funny – there were so many stories about mask fights when it looked like the commies were “winning.” Now that mask mandates have been effectively banned, not a word. It’s almost like this blog is less about reporting local goings-on, and more about swaying local public opinion to the communist cause – much like every other major institution in the formerly great and free U S of A. I hope you have a nice week trying to ruin other peoples’ lives because you’re sad about your own miserable little existence. Life tip – asserting power over others does not make you feel better about yourself in the long term.