7 deep-blue districts sue GOP Gov. Youngkin to uphold school mask mandates in Virginia


Seven Virginia school boards filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R) executive order ending the commonwealth's public school mask mandate, Axios reported.
The executive order, which Youngkin issued on his first day in office, would place masking decisions in the hands of parents.
According to the lawsuit, this would be unsafe as children are "a source of COVID-19 transmission, and ... therefore, present a risk of spreading COVID-19 to parents, teachers, school staff, the community, and other children."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The seven plaintiff districts — which together serve over 350,000 students — are Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Hampton City, Prince William County, and Richmond City.
Five of the seven are located in the Democratic stronghold of Northern Virginia. Youngkin lost all seven jurisdictions by large margins, according to election data provided by CNN.
When Youngkin defeated former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) last November, exit polling data showed that voters ranked education as their top issue, NPR reported.
In a statement released Friday, Youngkin said he was "confident that the Virginia Supreme Court will rule in the favor of parents, reaffirming the parental rights clearly laid out in the Virginia code § 1-240.1."
The portion of the Virginia state code Youngkin referenced states that "[a] parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent's child."
Youngkin also said that until the Virginia Supreme Court hands down its ruling, parents should "listen to their principal, and trust the legal process."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Jack Draper: can Britain's Wimbledon hopeful unseat Carlos Alcaraz?
In the Spotlight 'Volcano of emotion' smashes his racket during defeat in Queen's semi-final but world No.4 shows 'fighting spirit'
-
Crossword: June 23, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
How far would Russia go for Iran?
Today's Big Question US air strikes represent an 'embarrassment, provocation and opportunity' all rolled into one for Vladimir Putin
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests
-
Trump foists National Guard on unwilling California
speed read Protests erupted over ICE immigration raids in LA county
-
Supreme Court lowers bar in discrimination cases
speed read The court ruled in favor of a white woman who claimed she lost two deserved promotions to gay employees
-
Trump-Musk relationship implodes in taunts, threats
speed read Musk said Trump's multitrillion bill would cause a recession and accused the president of involvement with Jeffrey Epstein