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Stafford County Public Schools has become the latest Virginia public school system to enforce a universal mask mandate in defiance on an executive order signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The school district, which sits about an hour north of Richmond, approved the mask mandate with no parental opt-out option for all students, staff and visitors during an emergency meeting Thursday night.
“We will continue to remind students to wear masks as expected,” Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor said in a letter to parents:
“Students who repeatedly elect not to wear masks may be subject to disciplinary action through the Code of Student Conduct, as has been the practice since the beginning of the mask mandate.”
Youngkin, who was inaugurated Saturday, signed an executive order on his first day in office allowing parents and guardians to “elect for their children not to be subject to any mask mandate in effect at the child’s school or educational program.”
Parents in Chesapeake County filed a lawsuit asking Virginia’s Supreme Court to block the order earlier in the week, CNN previously reported. By Thursday, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyare filed a motion asking Virginia’s Supreme Court to block that petition.
“We are aware that the Governor’s Executive Order #2 is presently being challenged in the Virginia Supreme Court. Should the Virginia Supreme Court uphold the Governor’s Executive Order, the School Board will again convene to discuss this issue further,” Taylor said.
There are more than 29,000 students enrolled in the 33 schools within the SCPS system, according to their website.
“We understand that this decision is frustrating for some families,” Taylor said.
“As we work through the final four months of this school year, our steadfast commitment remains to provide our students with high quality, in-person instruction.”
While masking is mandatory on buses and in school buildings, parents and guardians can request an exemption for their child by contacting their child’s principal, the superintendent noted.
Some of the commonwealth’s largest school systems, including Fairfax County Public Schools and Prince Williams County Public Schools, have also told parents that they will continue to enforce a mask mandates on their campuses.
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