Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), along with several other school districts, filed lawsuits with the Arlington Circuit Court asking for an injunction against Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s mask-optional order. The Alexandria City, Arlington County, City of Richmond, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Hampton City, and Prince William County school boards took joint action arguing that the order, which took effect the same day, violates Virginia’s Constitution.
The lawsuit asserts that the executive order defies Article 8, Section 7 of Virginia’s Constitution, stating that “the supervision of schools in each school division shall be vested in a school board.” The combined statement released by the school boards also argues that the order conflicts with Senate Bill 1303, which requires that “local school boards should follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) health and safety requirements.”
“We’re doing the right thing so that we can continue our primary mission as a school district which is to provide in-person instruction for students,” FCPS superintendent Scott Brabrand said in a town hall meeting.
FCPS continues to enforce a universal masking policy for all staff and students regardless of vaccination status, adhering to the CDC and Fairfax County Health Department’s (FCHD) recommended guidelines. Youngkin’s order would give parents the choice of whether their child wears a mask or not, contradicting federal health guidelines while supporting the mask “off-ramp” conservative voters have long called for.
“I don’t think [students] should be required to [wear masks] because it’s not fair to punish a student that comes to school for not wearing one if the governor has put out an executive order,” an anonymous senior said. “On the other hand, I know that even though [students] may not care about their own safety, teachers and kids at risk do want to keep the mask mandate.”
That same evening, FCPS hosted a virtual town hall meeting with superintendent Scott Brabrand, assistant superintendent Dr. Michelle Boyd and medical health professionals who presented data and answered questions. The meeting touched on topics like masking for students during lunch and on the bus, religious mask exemption, monitoring carbon dioxide levels in schools, parent/child masking freedoms and steps to promote mask compliance, among others.
“The masking policy is just right because wearing a mask is pretty simple but will make a lot of students and teachers feel more safe in a learning environment,” the senior said.
With high transmission rates across the county, layered prevention strategies are believed to maximize student safety in order to continue in-person learning.
“This lawsuit is not brought out of choice, but out of necessity,” the statement from the school boards said. “School divisions need to continue to preserve their authority to protect and serve all of our students, including our most vulnerable, who need these mitigation measures perhaps more than anyone to be able to continue to access in-person instruction.”
