Supreme Court Rejects Parents' Challenge Of Youngkin Mask Order

RICHMOND, VA — The Virginia Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit Monday brought by a group of parents in Chesapeake who wanted the court to suspend Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order that made mask-wearing optional at public schools in the state.

The ruling comes after an Arlington County circuit court judge ruled Friday that Youngkin did not have authority to replace the judgment of local school boards in setting policy for reducing the spread of COVID-19 among students, teachers and other school employees.

Unlike the ruling in Arlington Circuit Court, the Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of the executive order. The court only ruled on the legal method that the group of parents in Chesapeake chose to challenge the governor's order allowing parents to choose to send their children to school unmasked.

"By this dismissal, we offer no opinion on the legality of [Youngkin's executive order] or any other issue pertaining to petitioners’ claims," the Supreme Court said.

In their lawsuit filed in the state Supreme Court on Jan. 18, the group of 13 parents with children in Chesapeake City Public Schools argued that Youngkin’s executive order goes against the state law that calls for each school board to implement guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “to the maximum extent practicable.”

Youngkin signed the order — Executive Order No. 2 — shortly after getting sworn into office on Jan. 15.

Attorney General Jason Miyares asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the complaint, filing a brief that cited a state law that states “a parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent’s child.”

On Monday, Miyares issued a statement saying that he and Youngkin are pleased with the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case, Castillo v. Youngkin.

"At the beginning of this pandemic, Governor Northam used his broad emergency powers to close places of worship, private businesses, and schools and impose a statewide mask mandate,” Miyares said. “Nearly two years later, we have better risk mitigation strategies and vaccines, and we know much more about the efficacy of requiring children to wear masks all day.”

The attorney general said his office will continue to defend Youngkin’s executive order on mask-wearing in schools.

Kevin Martingayle, an attorney for the Chesapeake parents who filed the lawsuit, described the Supreme Court's decision "a procedural ruling" and said the court noted that it was not ruling on the merits of Youngkin's executive order, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Monday.

On Friday, the circuit court judge in Arlington temporarily blocked Youngkin’s mask-optional order for students in schools, siding with seven school boards that sued over the policy that allowed parents to decide whether to send their children to class without a face covering.

The temporary restraining order issued Friday prevents parents from sending their children to school without a mask if the school district still requires masks.

On Jan. 24, the school boards in Alexandria, Arlington County, City of Richmond, Fairfax County, City of Falls Church, City of Hampton and Prince William County filed a lawsuit against Youngkin's executive order on optional masking in schools. With the lawsuit, the school boards sought to temporarily and permanently prevent enforcement of the mask-optional executive order.

The school boards in the lawsuit had questioned whether an executive order can override the authority given to school boards by Article VIII, § 7 of the Constitution of Virginia. The lawsuit also questions if the executive order can reverse Virginia General Assembly legislation, which requires in-person instruction while schools follow the CDC's COVID-19 mitigation strategies "to the maximum extent practicable."

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