Gov. Glenn Youngkin today signed a bill that will create a parental opt-out from local school mask mandates and ensuring five day a week in-person instruction that will take effect immediately.
Youngkin had tried back on Jan. 15, his first day in office, to create the opt-out by executive order, but that ran afoul of a state law passed last year putting mask mandates in place in Virginia schools through August 2022.
SB 739, patroned by Henrico Republican Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, passed the Democrat-majority State Senate by a 21-17 vote last week, with Democrats Lynwood Lewis, Joseph Morrissey and Chap Petersen voting in favor of the legislation.
It then passed the House on a party-line 52-48 vote on Monday.
The school boards in Staunton and Waynesboro had decided last month against creating parental opt-outs in the wake of the governor’s executive order.
The Augusta County School Board voted last month to keep its mask mandate in place through Feb. 14.
“Since day one, we have worked to empower Virginia parents who want to have a voice in the upbringing and education of their children,” Youngkin said in a statement today. “This is a defining moment and decisive victory for parents and kids across the Commonwealth. We are reaffirming that parents matter by signing SB739, effectively giving parents the ability to opt-out of school mask mandates.”
Story by Chris Graham
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