The law also says more than what you claim:
"Each school board shall offer in-person instruction to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public elementary and secondary school for at least the minimum number of required instructional hours and to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public school-based early childhood care and education program for the entirety of the instructional time provided pursuant to such program. For the purposes of this act, each school board shall (i) adopt, implement, and, when appropriate, update specific parameters for the provision of in-person instruction and (ii) provide such in-person instruction in a manner in which it adheres, to the maximum extent practicable, to any currently applicable mitigation strategies for early childhood care and education programs and elementary and secondary schools to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 that have been provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
Keep in mind that the first version of this bill was offered by a Republican, and all that it said was that schools had to offer in person instruction. The Democrats (who had a trifecta in Virginia) heavily modified it and added the CDC mitigation language.
You might not like it. I certainly don't. However, it was a law that was debated, amended, passed and then signed by the then Governor.
You can try to creatively interpret what it says, but it certainly says more than what you think that it does.
The real issue is how this law interacts with other sections of the VA Code and the Constitution. Ultimately, The VA Supreme Court is going to have to interpret the two competing sections and figure out what the rule is.
That's how the system works. Governor Youngkin can no more erase the law (which expires August 1) out of existence than he can magically enact new laws. That's ultimately up to the General Assembly.
He's not a dictator.
Please see post 4. I went into greater detail about “to the maximum extent practicable.”