It’s as if perpetual masking, from now until the end of time, is the game plan for Democrat-controlled school districts in some parts of the Commonwealth of Virginia. In the northern Virginia area, basically the DC suburbs, school districts like Loudoun County and Fairfax County have threatened kids with expulsion if they stroll in this week expecting to be able to “opt-out” from wearing a mask per newly inaugurated Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order.
Some parents were forced to pick up maskless children this morning or wait in their cars, not allowed to come in with their students to get an explanation for why their school district, which was eager to follow executive orders from the previous governor, is now flouting an order from the new Republican governor.
Listen to this exchange from WMAL in DC on the Larry O’Connor show this morning from two northern Virginia mothers with heartbreaking accounts of parental fatigue in fighting for normalcy.
It’s 8 minutes of a window into what some parents are dealing with, not just in Virginia, but many parts of the country:
It’s gotten so ridiculous among liberals in the Old Dominion fighting for eternal masking that at least one northern Virginia Democratic state senator has had enough, and joined Youngkin’s efforts to unmask the kids:
On Monday, Chap Peterson, a moderate Democrat who joined with Republicans to force school re-opening last year, said in an email to the Fairfax County Parents Association that Fairfax’s school board “must define an ‘off ramp’ for mandatory masking. That means plainly stated metrics as well as a final deadline (e.g. Valentine’s Day). They should announce that immediately. The forced masking policy is going to end very soon, i.e. in a few weeks. Otherwise, the General Assembly will again step in. IT IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE LONG-TERM SOLUTION.”
Peterson is a Democrat, but not a died-in-the-wool progressive like most of his counterparts. He sees the writing on the wall when it comes to ending mandates and letting kids get back to learning without being inhibited by masks.
Youngkin will eventually prevail on the legal merits, but some districts, and mask-loving authoritative parents, are forcing the issue to take the legal route before they end up losing:
With the order facing a legal challenge filed last week filed by a group of parents and another filed Monday morning by seven school boards, Youngkin urged patience and asked parents to listen to their children’s school principals for the time being.
Monday’s legal challenge was brought by seven schools boards in the state filed a lawsuit in Arlington County Circuit Court seeking to block the executive order.
In a message to parents, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand he hoped the lawsuit will allow for a swift resolution of the conflict between the governor and local boards that believe a mask mandate is a necessary public health measure.
Youngkin’s legal argument is relying on a Virginia statute that has been on the books a long time guaranteeing that parents have the ultimate authority in the upbringing and care of their children, not the state:
§ 1-240.1. Rights of parents.
A parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent’s child.
It seems like an outrageously dumb hill for Democrats in the state to die on considering they just got shellacked in November by a candidate with the slogan of “Parents Matter.” What’s their message, “Parents Don’t Matter”?
Youngkin’s order does not “ban mandates,” the districts can still mandate their masks. They just have to let parents opt out if they want to. In other words, a large percentage of kids will still wear their masks in liberal areas and parts of the state, but some will not.
In cases of special education specifically, as mentioned by one of the Fairfax moms above in the audio clip, it’s a form of abuse to keep these children and their instructors masked all day.
Democrats are overplaying their hand and the big question is whether Chap Peterson, a Democratic state senator, might cross the aisle and vote with Republicans to amend the law and ensure parents have the ability to opt-out in addition to Youngkin’s order.
The issue will be decided sometime this week by the Supreme Court of Virginia. Luckily, Youngkin has a fantastic new Attorney General by his side to make things happen for parents:
I've asked the Supreme Court of Virginia to dismiss the lawsuit against Governor Youngkin and Executive Order two, which restores authority to parents to make the best decision for their children.
With our filing, we again affirm that parents matter. pic.twitter.com/6F3E0TBjmA
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) January 21, 2022
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