Virginia A.G. Miyares: School Boards 'Stood By' While Schools Closed, But Will Sue over Keeping Parents from Making Decisions on Masks

On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) reacted to the lawsuit filed by Virginia school boards against Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R) executive order lifting mask mandates in school by stating that those school boards “certainly stood by and stayed silent when the previous governor shut down our churches, shut down businesses, closed schools,” under broad executive power, but are now opposing Youngkin saying the governor can determine that “parents can make these decisions that are best for them.”

Miyares said, “[I]f you’re a parent and you want your child to have a mask for eight hours a day, that is absolutely your right. But the point of the executive order is recognize there are going to be other parents that come to a different conclusion. We’ve had parents of somebody who’s asthmatic who said this is really bothering my child’s asthma. I had another parent that came to me and said my middle school daughter went from being an all A student to, because of the glasses constantly fogging up, now being a mostly C student. So, this is about each individual parent reaching their own conclusion of what’s best for their child. That is in the code of Virginia that parents have a fundamental right to the education and upbringing of their child. But more than that, Martha, the governor has such broad executive power when there are these states of emergencies that these school boards certainly stood by and stayed silent when the previous governor shut down our churches, shut down businesses, closed schools, and mandated masks. All we’re saying is under the governor’s executive power that’s already there under the Virginia code, he also has the ability of determining that yes, parents can make these decisions that are best for them.”

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