HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Across Virginia, school boards are making decisions about masks in schools, sparking controversy and confusion as parents, teachers and students await a court decision on the matter.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order in January, saying that parents — not school districts — should have the final say on masks in school settings. The executive order has resulted in vocal responses from across the Commonwealth, with some school districts supporting the order, and others choosing to still require masks while at school.
The legal challenge by seven of those Virginia school boards against Youngkin's executive order will be heard in Arlington circuit court on Feb. 2.
"You're not going to change a way a teacher behaves just because a court makes a decision one way or another," said Henrico parent, Tiffany Sweetser.
Sweetser said her 17-year-old son, a senior at Deep Run High School, has endured ridicule for defying Henrico Schools' decision to keep their mask mandate in place.
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She said that unmasked students are physically separated from other students, and that some are being taunted in school and on social media.
"Very discriminated against and segregated and isolated and humiliated and all the bullying terms that you can imagine, he came home really beaten down," Sweetser said.
She said a recent post by the Henrico Education Association, asking teachers to wear black in defiance of unmasked students in schools, was hurtful.
"You never want your child in the middle of something that's an adult issue and that's the problem, this is a parent's right. My son, while he's 17, is still a minor. This is my right to send him to school without a mask," Sweetser said.
However, other Virginia parents said they are frustrated by their school district's decision to allow parents to make the decisions when it comes to masks.
Andrea Pipp, a Chesterfield parent, said she is angry over the school board's recent decision to follow Youngkin's order.
She was one of a number of parents who demonstrated outside Meadowbrook High School on Monday night in favor of mask mandates in schools.
"My children are fortunate, they are healthy, they are vaccinated, but there's a lot of children in our communities that are unable to get vaccinated, physically unable to wear a mask, and we're out to speak for the people who can't," Pipp said.
