A number of Virginia officials, including Governor Glenn Youngkin, have asked the court to include them as plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by parents against Loudoun County Public Schools for their mask mandate.
On Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed against Loudoun County Public Schools for ignoring an Executive Order signed by Youngkin that allowed parents to opt their kids out of having to wear a mask at school.
The parents who took legal action got a boost of support on Thursday when Governor Youngkin, Attorney General Jason Miyares, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow filed a motion to join the lawsuit as intervenors.
In accordance with Virginia Legal Code 3:14, the three officials are seeking to intervene in order to file a "Complaint, Temporary Injunction, and Motion for Temporary Restraining Order."
BREAKING: A group of Loudoun County parents have filed a lawsuit against the Loudoun School Board for ignoring @GlennYoungkin's Exec. Order that allows a parental opt-out on student face masks in schools. Thank-you Governor for fighting for parents! pic.twitter.com/xHvQ0N5oT5
— Virginia GOP (@VA_GOP) February 1, 2022
"In its complaint in intervention," the motion reads, "the Commonwealth of Virginia demands declaratory and injunctive relief against the Loudoun County School Board (the 'School Board') and seeks an order requiring the School Board to rescind its universal mask mandate and comply with Executive Order 2."
"The School Board willfully defied a lawful order from the Governor," the motion continues, "opting instead to compromise the health and welfare of the Commonwealth’s children via adherence to a defunct order, and to interfere with both the Governor’s duty to manage an ongoing emergency and parents’ rights to have a say in how their children are cared for and educated."
The Executive Order in question is the aforementioned parental mask opt-out, which many liberal-leaning districts have continued to ignore after it came into effect on January 24, claiming it violates the law.
As The Daily Wire reports, some districts have even gone so far as to punish students for not wearing their masks. The LCPS, for example, handed down a 10-day suspension to a student who refused to wear a mask, and at many schools it may soon be considered trespassing to enter the grounds without one.
"When the pandemic started, Governor Northam used his emergency powers to close down places of worship, private businesses, and schools and impose a universal mask mandate," AG Miyares said in a statement. "Nearly two years later, Governor Youngkin is using those same emergency powers to adapt to our current phase in the same pandemic, by giving parents the ability to opt out of a school mask mandate."
"Parents know what is best for their children," the AG added, "and should be able to decide if their children wear a mask for eight hours a day."
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