Judge Halts Virginia Governor Youngkin’s Order Ending Mask Mandates in Schools

Associated Press via Epoch Times ^ | 02/04/2022 | Jack Phillips

[SeekAndFind]

A Virginia judge on Friday afternoon granted a temporary injunction to seven school districts in Virginia to allow school boards to continue to mandate mask-wearing for students.

One of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s first executive orders sought to give parents flexibility in whether to allow mask-wearing for their children in education settings. Several school boards, in response, filed a lawsuit in the Arlington Circuit Court on Jan. 24.

Arlington Circuit Court Judge Louise DiMatteo ruled in favor (pdf) of seven school boards involved in the lawsuit. The judge ruled that Youngkin cannot override the decision of local school boards on mask-wearing under a 2021 state law.

DiMatteo also ruled that she believes the current policies of universal masking are beneficial.

“Keeping rules in place that have been established over the school year helps children, families, and staff understand how they may be impacted during the pandemic. Without a restraining order, children and staff would have to reassess certain health conditions they believe are impacted by a mask policy,” she wrote.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Jason Miyares told local media that his office will appeal the ruling.

“The governor will never stop fighting for parents’ ability to choose what is best for their children,” Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said in a statement Friday. “The governor often said that this is not a pro-mask or anti-mask debate. It’s about parents knowing what’s best for their child’s health, and opting-out should there be a mask mandate.”

During a Wednesday hearing, Deputy Attorney General Steven Popps argued that Youngkin is entitled to issue executive orders responding to the coronavirus pandemic just as his predecessor, Democrat Ralph Northam, did when he imposed a statewide school mask mandate.

“It should not matter whose name is on the executive order,” Popps said at the time.

But John Cafferky, a lawyer for Alexandria Public Schools—one of the seven school boards that jointly filed the lawsuit opposing Youngkin’s order—said Northam’s actions were justified because he was acting to preserve public health.

The ruling comes as more and more experts and public health officials have suggested an end to school mask mandates. An infectious disease expert who works for the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, and other researchers recently wrote that several studies cited by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for mask mandates in schools are flawed.

“We reviewed a variety of studies—some conducted by the CDC itself, some cited by the CDC as evidence of masking effectiveness in a school setting, and others touted by media to the same end—to try to find evidence that would justify the CDC’s no-end-in-sight mask guidance for the very-low-risk pediatric population, particularly post-vaccination,” they wrote for The Atlantic late last month. “We came up empty-handed.”

At the same time, a number of separate studies have shown that children are at an extremely low risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms, hospitalization, or death.

[rlmorel]

A stinking verminous judicial leftist Rat I’ll wager.

[RKBA Democrat]

Looks like they shopped courts. Arlington makes San FranFreako look conservative by comparison.

[Captain Jack Aubrey]

I think the judge may be correct. The legislature passed a law on point last year and that is the law. The governor cannot by executive order override state law.

[Deaf Smith]

What is the law the state passed in regards to masking?

Or is it a law about school district rules?

[ozarker]

Why don’t conservatives do this? The left passes a law, just get a judge to block it. Aren’t there conservative judges?

[Deaf Smith]

Conservatives have No Standing.

[gitmo]

Why don’t conservatives do this? The left passes a law, just get a judge to block it. Aren’t there conservative judges?

Conservatives follow the law.

[Pining_4_TX]

The only thing that will stop this is parents removing their kids from the government schools en masse. The only thing that will stop all the fighting over control of education is for government to get out of it at all levels. Then parents can truly decide what school is best for their children. As long as there are government schools, the left will continue to control them.

[DesertRhino]

“DiMatteo also ruled that she believes the current policies of universal masking are beneficial.”

NOT her decision to make. Only if it’s legal or not. And if he cannot, how could Northam issue such an order?

[lightman]

Masking IS very "beneficial":
It’s all about teaching COMPLIANCE….
...not “following the science”:

Masks are:

1) a sign of submission, subversion and subjugation
2) mandated in order to dehumanize
3) virtue signaling devices
4) meant to provide constant reinforcement of fear
5) used to destroy community, friends and family normal communication
6) implemented to create isolation, confusion, anxiety, destroy human connectivity, trust and interactions
7) mandated to exacerbate illness
8) intended to aid in the abandonment of the belief and reliance on our immune systems
9) intended to refute integrous science
10) signal to positions of power that you are willing to give up all of your rights and freedoms based on anything they say, even if it is a BIG FAT LIE!

[EC Washington]

So lower court Judges in Virginia have jurisdiction over the Governor? How does anything get done?

[taxesareforever]

Oh,but judges aren’t political. Oh yeah, there are liberal judges who don’t play by the rules (Constitution).

[j.havenfarm]

I’d note that VA peaked at just over 17K cases in January 14, and was just over 7K yesterday. Still the madness goes on

[ground_fog]

I saw a 8 year old kid in the grocery store here in GA. It took eery bit of strength not to call her out as demon possessed and a child abusing slave.

[Deaf Smith]

Care to reword your post?

[ifinnegan]

“I think the judge may be correct. The legislature passed a law on point last year and that is the law. The governor cannot by executive order override state law.”

What is the state law?

[Captain Jack Aubrey]

https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+ful+CHAP0456

[Captain Jack Aubrey]

https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+ful+CHAP0456

[EVO X]

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