HAMPTON, Va. — It was a day one promise for Gov. Glenn Youngkin: He signed an executive order making face masks optional in Virginia public schools.
But on Friday, a judge blocked that order after seven school divisions – including Hampton – filed a lawsuit challenging it.
The ruling means that as of now, it’s up to the school board to decide whether face masks should be mandatory. All students and staff at Hampton City Schools will continue to wear face masks.
For parents like Veronica Spencer, the judge’s ruling is the right one.
“I think the circuit court judge done a wonderful thing," Spence said. “It keeps our kids safe and our teachers safe because God knows we need those people.”
Spencer said the governor trying to make masks optional isn't a good choice considering COVID-19 cases are still high.
“You’re putting our kids at risk, the staff members at risk, and it’s basically saying – you don’t care," Spencer said. “It was like he [Youngkin] had too much power to play with and that judge knocked him back down to his reality – like this is what you can do because you overstepped your boundaries a little bit.”
But it's not over yet. A spokesperson for Youngkin said his office plans to appeal the decision.
In a statement, the governor's office said Youngkin is committed to defending parents' rights.
Some Hampton parents, like Kelly Young, are standing behind the governor. Young says masks should be optional.
“My eight-year-old, he doesn’t want to wear a mask. I always see him. He wants to take it off, he wants to play with it," Young said. "Younger kids, their main goal is, they look at it as something that’s a distraction.”
Young said the Hampton school board should not have filed that lawsuit against Youngkin, without consulting with parents.
“They should have brought it up for us to discuss our thoughts, our opinions, and how we wanted to proceed," Young said. “Ultimately we’ve had other issues like the flu where they’re not like, “Oh my God, you have to wear a mask.’”
Hampton City Schools issued a statement saying the circuit court judge’s order “allows schools to continue to protect the health and well-being of all students and staff” and that includes requiring face masks.
The judge’s ruling only applies to the seven school divisions who sued.
Masks are optional at Chesapeake Public Schools and Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Chesapeake parent Jeremy Rodden and Virginia Beach parent Kristen McDonald say they want their divisions to take the ruling into account.
“It doesn’t help us in Chesapeake because our school board decided to make a policy that was masks are optional anyway," Rodden said.
McDonald said: “I want to see Virginia Beach school board take this into consideration and revote.”