The seven school districts' lawsuit is not the first legal challenge against Youngkin's executive order. Last week, 13 parents from the Chesapeake City Public Schools filed a lawsuit in the Virginia Supreme Court.Students at Colin L. Powell Elementary School read aloud letters they wrote to the family of Colin Powell with their condolences after news of his passing due to COVID-19 complications was announced, on Oct. 19, 2021 in Centreville, Va.
That lawsuit was filed against Virginia Acting State Health Commissioner Colin Greene, Virginia Acting Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, the Chesapeake School Board and Chesapeake City Public Schools Superintendent Jared Cotton, in addition to the governor. "We are disappointed that these school boards are ignoring parents' rights," Youngkin's spokesperson Macaulay Porter told ABC News."The governor and attorney general are in coordination and are committed to aggressively defending parents' fundamental right to make decisions with regard to their child's upbringing, education, and care, as the legal process plays out.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki weighed in on the dispute over wearing masks in Virginia schools on Monday during the White House press briefing."Who does the president think knows best for students: school board members or parents?" Doocy asked. "The president believes that public health officials have the best guidance on what we can all do to protect ourselves, including teachers, administrators and students," Psaki said."It's always been up to local school districts to determine how they're going to approach, what implementation measures they're going to put in place."