A judge in Arlington, Virginia, issued a temporary restraining order against Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order allowing parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates.
The order came almost two weeks after the executive order took effect and after dozens of school districts across the commonwealth refused to lift their mandates. Several districts, notably Loudoun County and Fairfax County, said students who showed up to school unmasked would face suspensions.
Judge Louise DiMatteo of the Circuit Court of Arlington issued the restraining order on Friday, two days after hearing oral arguments from seven school districts that had sued to block the order’s enforcement. Litigation over the order in other parts of the commonwealth is still pending.
PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION LIKELY AGAINST YOUNGKIN VIRGINIA MASK ORDER, ATTORNEY SAYS
“Having addressed all aspects of whether a temporary restraining order should issue, the Court concludes that the School Boards’ Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order with regard to optional masking of children should be granted,” DiMatteo wrote in the order, according to the Washington Post.
Charlottesville trial attorney Scott Goodman told the Washington Examiner last week that an injunction against the order was likely, although it would not include a ruling on the merits of the order.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The executive order was one of several that Youngkin signed hours after being sworn in to office on Jan. 15. The governor has defended the order as being well within his emergency powers.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said the ruling was “just the first step in the judicial process” and would be appealed.
“The governor will never stop fighting for parents’ ability to choose what is best for their children,” Porter said. “The governor often said that this is not a pro-mask or anti-mask debate. It’s about parents knowing what’s best for their child’s health and opting out should there be a mask mandate. More voices, including from the scientific and medical community, call into question the efficacy behind a universal mask mandate for children. This is about what’s best for their kid’s health and who can best make that decision.”
