Arlington Circuit Court issued on Friday a temporary restraining order against Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order that allowed parents to opt-out of school mask mandates for their children, which means that masks mandates may remain in place, at least for now.
Judge Louise DiMatteo, who noted that the single issue before the court was whether Youngkin can override the decision of seven local school boards – Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Falls Church, Hampton, Prince William County, and Richmond -through his emergency powers, ruled in favor of seven school boards that filed the lawsuit.
Youngkin’s executive order, which concerns over 350,000 students, was one of the first actions he took after his Jan. 15 inauguration.
It regarded the decision the local school boards made under a 2021 state law that required them to provide in-person instruction that complies with Covid-19 mitigation strategies after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended universal masking, regardless of vaccination status.
Judge DiMatteo decided that the Governor cannot override local school officials on this pivotal point through his emergency powers, pointing out that without a restraining order, children and staff would have to reassess certain health conditions impacted by the mask policy.
Attorney General Jason Miyares’ spokeswoman said he will appeal the ruling while Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said the governor will never stop fighting for parents’ right to choose what is best for their children.
Judge DiMatteo’s ruling, however, was praised by the school boards that underlined in a joint statement that the order protects the students and staff’s health and well-being while reaffirming Virginia’s local school boards’ constitutional right to enact policy at the local level.
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