Gov. Glen Youngkin’s mask choice executive order took effect Monday, January 24, giving parents the option to send their children to school without a facemask. Afterward, many parents who sent their child to school without a mask said their children were segregated from their classmates, sat along in the backs of classrooms, or removed from classrooms altogether, forced to spend the day in administrative offices, and denied a proper education.
The Prince William County School Board voted unanimously to sue Youngkin, joining multiple Northern Virginia school divisions who chose to ignore the executive order from the newly-inaugurated Republican governor.
On February 16, Youngkin signed new bi-partisan legislation giving mask choice to all parents across the state. But scars left behind by public schools’ forced-masking policies will be for a long time, said Miyares.
“Anybody has been a parent of a child has seen the impact of mask mandate had on so many children, particularly those that have learning challenges, kids with an [individualized education prorgam], that has been such a challenge,” said Miyares.
According to Miyares, standardized testing is showing more young school children are struggling to learn in the wake of the pandemic. Meanwhile, head-start counselors in the Fredericksburg region report seeing more small children in need of developing speech therapy.
Additionally, last month, the CDC revised its word count for toddlers, increasing the number of recommended words from 50 by 24 months to the same number for words at 30 months.
“This is something we will be seeing for years,” added Miyares.
Parents who feel school divisions segregated their children should contact the Office of the Attorney General and file a complaint, said Miyares.
In the weeks since the new mask choice law, the number of complaints to the AG’s office about school masking policies has decreased. “The last time our children were living a normal life, it was 2019, and so the goal now is to get them back to a normal life,” the Attorney General said.
Miyares commented during a visit to the region on Thursday, March 17, when the Attorney General visited the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office and the ACTS Food Pantry in Dumfries.
