Virginia’s Legislature passed a bill providing parents with the ability to choose whether their children should wear a mask in school without having to provide a certified reason Wednesday.
The bill, which passed in the commonwealth’s Senate with a bipartisan vote of 21-17, amended Virginia education code protecting students from any disciplinary or academic consequences should they choose not to wear a mask. SB 739 will also keep schools open five days a week for in-person instruction.
“This is a defining moment for parents and kids in Virginia,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. “We have a bipartisan movement to get parents back in charge of their kids’ lives because remember, parents matter.”
Youngkin appeared on Fox’s Hannity on Wednesday and said the bill is bipartisan representation that “it is time to get back to normal.”
Sean Hannity asked Youngkin about the attacks he has faced from Democrats and the media since taking office and moving quickly to act on a campaign promise to return education decisions to parents.
WATCH: THE MEGYN KELLY SHOW BLASTS COVID MANDATES AS PART OF CLASS WARFARE
“I thought Democrats were pro-choice?” Hannity said.
“This is the reality of, I think, the misperceptions that the media is trying to drive. If you want to wear a mask, wear a mask,” Youngkin said. “Virginia voters are the ones we all work for — not the education unions or the school board. We work for parents, kids, and teachers. We are going to allow parents to make a decision for their kids.”
Youngkin added that he is not deterred by the attacks.
“When you’re making change, there are people that are going to disagree with you,” Youngkin said. “As I said, Virginians sent us here to do a job, and I’m going to do it.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Virginia’s Legislature also passed SB 656, requiring the Department of Education to develop policies for ensuring parental notification of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content.
The passages of these bills came a day after parents attempted to serve the Loudoun County School Board with a cease-and-desist affidavit demanding an end to the district’s mask and other COVID-19 mandates, the teaching of critical race theory, and several other grievances pertaining to gay and transgender ideology.
