Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed an executive action within hours of him taking office in January to let parents opt out of school mask mandates.
The order was supposed to take effect on Monday, but confusion has churned over the implications since then. Some districts interpreted his instructions differently or blatantly ignored them, with schools continuing to keep pre-existing mask mandates in place for students.
Some districts interpreted the order as being at odds with a state law dealing with COVID-19 mitigation in schools.
The first sign something was amiss came as Republican J.P. Freire, Director of Communications on the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, tweeted of children being “punished.”
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“Just got a heads up that Loudoun County Schools are punishing kids who don't wear masks by putting them in the equivalent of a rubber room without access to instruction. Teachers insist kids wear masks regardless of the Governor's order and say `` wait until the SCOTUS decision.”
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He quickly followed up with a link to a local news report after being contacted by people expressing disbelief that children may be barred from lessons. “A lot of folks are replying that this can't possibly be true—likely because it seems so unreasonable and ridiculous.”
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Loudoun County school district spokesperson Wayde Byard confirmed no students were sent home on Monday morning for defying the mask order. He said that those who refused to wear masks were routed to school auditoriums where they could complete work virtually through the school's online platform.
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He explained that lunch periods were adjusted to ensure maskless students would receive lunch. In Purcellville, Virginia, northwest of Washington D.C., about 30 students out of more than 1,400 refused to wear masks.
They entered their school chanting, “no mask Monday!” About a dozen parents outside Woodgrove High School cheered them on. Four or five parents opted to pull their children. The rest stayed at the school, isolated from masked peers.
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He said angry parents were at a few schools, but principals defused the situations. “It was pretty much a non-event,” Byard conceded. Principal William Shipp reiterated that any student who did not wear a mask would be taken out of class and put in the school's auditorium for virtual learning.
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