Youngkin's Masking Order For Schools Opposed By County Board

FAIRFAX, VA — Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 8-1 to support the Fairfax County School Board's challenge to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's executive order on optional masking in schools.

The executive order, which took effect on Monday, states parents have the choice on whether their child should wear a mask at school, regardless of any school or state mandates. Numerous school districts had announced their intent to keep their mask mandates when Youngkin announced the executive order on Jan. 15, his first day in office.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay introduced a motion at the board's first meeting of 2022 on Tuesday that voiced the board's support for a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the executive order and whether school boards have the authority to enact local policies. The lawsuit was brought by the Fairfax County School Board and six other school boards from across the state.

"These practices are crucial if we want to continue to keep schools open and minimize staff and student absenteeism," McKay said. "Here in Fairfax County, we're committed to keeping schools open. We spent two long years slowing the spread of COVID-19 to facilitate just that. We follow the science and our trusted health professionals."

Related: Youngkin Mask Order Challenged By 7 Virginia School Districts

As of January 20, 80 percent of all Fairfax County residents have received at least one vaccine dose and the county has more than 300 vaccination sites.

McKay reported that 46.7 percent of children ages 5-11, 90.1 percent of children 12 to 15 and 94.6 percent of children 16 to 17 have received at least one vaccine dose.

Due to the precautions taken by Fairfax County Public Schools when bringing students back for in-person learning for the 2021-22 school year, no school in the county has had to close for a single day due to COVID-19, he added.

"It is our duty and that of the Fairfax County School Board to prioritize the health and safety to the best of our abilities, including to ensure the best education for our students," McKay said.

As part of his motion, McKay included a letter to the governor outlining the board's concerns and showing its support for the school board and superintendent's plan to continue requiring masks for all people in county schools. He also encouraged the governor to develop metrics in cooperation with local health directors and school districts to achieve the goal of safely eliminating masks.

Related: Interim VA COVID Guidelines Issued As Court Considers Mask Order

The motion included the board's support for Senate Bill 1303, which the Virginia General Assembly passed in 2021. The bill gives school divisions the authority to implement necessary mitigations to reduce the spread of COVID-19 based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and local public health officials so that students may continue learning virtually or in person.

When the board matter was put up for discussion, several supervisors echoed McKay's concerns.

Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, the lone Republican on the board, said he opposed the state mandate, but he voted against the motion because the matter would be decided by the courts.

"I am a conservative, and I do believe government closest to the people is the most effective and I am against the state mandate," he said. "What works for us doesn't work for other parts of the state and vice versa. That's largely why I'm going to be opposing this, because our letter basically walks back the state mandate, which is one size does not fit all."

On Monday, Youngkin said that his administration had set up an email address for residents to report any type of teachings or practices in public schools across the state that they feel are "inherently divisive."

Youngkin made the comments on the show of conservative radio host John Fredericks, who was Donald Trump's Virginia presidential campaign chairman in 2016 and 2020.

This article originally appeared on the Reston Patch