VIRGINIA - The Virginia House of Delegates banned school mask mandates Monday, handing a victory to Republican Gov.
Glenn Youngkin after his effort to impose the ban by executive order stalled in court.Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and WeatherThe measure already passed the Senate.
Youngkin’s office has indicated he will sign it and plans to attach an emergency clause letting it take effect immediately. If he does, the bill will go back to the legislature, where it will require a majority vote from each chamber, which could take just a matter of days.Without the emergency clause, the bill wouldn’t take effect until July 1.In a statement, Youngkin called passage "a significant step" that "will give parents a choice regarding their child’s health, education, upbringing, and care."Youngkin won election in November on a campaign platform that emphasized parental choice in education.
On his first day in office last month, he signed an executive order ending a statewide mask mandate in schools enacted by his predecessor, Democrat Ralph Northam.Youngkin’s order also sought to bar local school systems from imposing mask mandates on their own, but it got bogged down in legal challenges.