{"id":1304929,"date":"2022-02-17T00:37:57","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T05:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1304929"},"modified":"2022-02-17T00:38:07","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T05:38:07","slug":"virginia-judge-strikes-down-loudoun-county-school-mask-mandate-effective-immediately","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-judge-strikes-down-loudoun-county-school-mask-mandate-effective-immediately\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Judge Strikes Down Loudoun County School Mask Mandate Effective Immediately"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvirginia-judge-strikes-down-loudoun-county-school-mask-mandate-effective-immediately%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1304929&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Students-wearing-masks-classroom-ap-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">LEESBURG, Virginia \u2014 A Loudoun County, Virginia, judge struck down the mask mandate imposed by the Loudoun County School Board (LCSB) Wednesday evening, immediately allowing students to attend class without masks.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/02\/16\/glenn-youngkin-joins-mask-mandate-lawsuit-against-loudoun-county-school-board-willfully-defied-lawful-order-governor\/\">lawsuit<\/a> that saw the administration of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) join forces with parents against the school district, Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge James P. Fisher decided to grant an emergency injunction in the mandate after weighing arguments from parent plaintiffs\u2019 counsel, Attorney General Jason Miyares\u2019s (R) office, and LCSB.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cToday is a great day for Virginia\u2019s parents and kids,\u201d Youngkin said in a press release. \u201cNot only did we pass a bipartisan bill empowering parents&nbsp;to opt-out of school mask mandates, but also the Loudoun Circuit Court reaffirmed parents\u2019 rights to have a say in their child\u2019s health, education, care, and wellbeing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re excited that Loudoun has reached this decision,\u201d it continued. \u201cImportantly, the court ordered that any disciplinary action against students who were punished for following their parents\u2019 decision to remove their mask will be expunged from their records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fisher, upon taking his seat to preside, told the gallery \u2014 well-attended by parents and children \u2014 that they were welcome to remove masks if they felt comfortable doing so. He then heard arguments from LCSB asking for a stay in the case until a later date, justifying in part that the LCSB needed time to \u201cknow more\u201d about a new law signed by Youngkin earlier in the afternoon that also ended the mask mandate \u2014 but which did not fully go into effect until March 1.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Fisher asked LCSB if they intended to comply with the new law or challenge it in court, but the lawyer said they need time to get the \u201clay of the land.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lead counsel on the case for the parent plaintiffs<strong>,<\/strong>&nbsp;Jones Day lawyer James Burnham, said in response that \u201cThey [LCSB] won\u2019t even tell you if they\u2019re willing to follow state law. \u2026 It is outrageous to suggest we should hold this over to see if the school board is going to defy state law.\u201d Burnham previously clerked for Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and served in the Trump Justice Department.<\/p>\n<p>Fisher ultimately denied stay, saying that given the \u201congoing nature of harm\u201d alleged by the parents, he does not \u201chave a comfort level that this will resolve itself.\u201d He proceeded to hear arguments for and against an immediate injunction on the mask mandate.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit covered the efficacy and detrimental health effects of masks, the fundamental right of parents in Virginia to direct the upbringing of their children, the governor\u2019s authority to rescind a mask mandate \u2014 by way of Youngkin\u2019s Executive Order (EO) \u2014 and the relative power of school boards in Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>The school board has been \u201cdefying state law aggressively, openly, and proudly since January 24,\u201d Burnham said, explaining that their imposition of mask mandates as a safety measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus is \u201cnot consistent with reality\u201d and amounts to a \u201charmful medical request.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>The attorney for the AG\u2019s office, Virginia Solicitor General Andrew Ferguson, agreed, saying that \u201cserious prejudice [is] being inflicted on children\u201d that imposes \u201cdaily irreparable harm.\u201d Ferguson previously clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy pointed out that \u201cdepression and anxiety symptoms for youth around the world had doubled during the pandemic and that clinical data also revealed that \u2018suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher for adolescent girls and 4% higher for adolescent boys compared to the same time period in early 2019.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Pandemic-related measures \u2026 made it harder to recognize signs of child abuse, mental health concerns, and other challenges\u2019 children were facing given the \u2018reduced in-person interactions among children, friends, social supports, and professionals such as teachers [and] school counselors,\u2019\u201d Murthy\u2019s study stated.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, as the lawsuit points out, \u201cThere is a growing consensus that mask mandates in schools may harm early childhood development, especially kids whose lingual or social development is atypical. \u2026 Studies have additionally shown that masks may harm children\u2019s ability to form solid social and emotional ties with friends, teachers, and other members of their community \u2014 particularly for children whose development is atypical.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe burdens of the pandemic fall almost entirely on the youngest in our society,\u201d and masks are a well-documented burden with \u201cseemingly little scientific evidence\u201d that they reduce the spread of the coronavirus, Burnham said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>In the plea for an immediate injunction, Burnham emphasized that \u201cmoney is not going to make that better later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the ample and growing evidence that masks are detrimental to children, LCSB implemented seemingly punitive measures on students who refused to wear masks in school, such as suspension, \u201csegregation,\u201d and public shaming from students and teachers.<\/p>\n<p>Parental rights were at play as well.<\/p>\n<p>Virginian parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children, and EO 2 sought to \u201cempower Virginia parents in their child\u2019s education and upbringing by allowing parents to make decisions on whether their child wears a mask in school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In order to infringe on this right, a government must satisfy a test under \u201cstrict scrutiny\u201d \u2014 a high legal bar \u2014 which Burnham argued in part would mean the \u201cboard must substantiate that masking actually stops the spread of COVID-19,\u201d to which he said the \u201cevidence doesn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also at issue was Virginia law S.B. 1303, a law passed by the Virginia General Assembly during the pandemic&nbsp;\u201cin response to the recalcitrance of school boards like Loudoun County,\u201d to require school boards to&nbsp;\u201coffer in-person instruction to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public elementary and secondary school for at least the minimum number of required instructional hours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While requiring in-person learning, this law also directed school boards to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the \u201cmaximum extent practicable.\u201d That standard, argued Burnham, was used by LCSB as a catch-all that would allow the CDC to \u201ctrump everything in the Virginia code.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not only that, but the school board\u2019s policy is actually not in compliance with even the CDC. The CDC, for example, does not require masks, but rather \u201crecommends\u201d them. But even more to the point, the CDC recommends \u201cpositive reinforcement\u201d for minors who are being asked to mask. LCSB, however, suspends maskless students, locks them in gymnasiums, and quarantines them with other children,<\/p>\n<p>In one instance, Ferguson detailed maskless students being \u201cbullied and harassed\u201d by students and staff as they were locked in a room so that masked students could laugh and take pictures of them.<\/p>\n<p>One would think, Ferguson added, that the \u201cschool would treat them like children, not pawns in a political scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is \u201cunfair and unconscionable,\u201d he continued, explaining that children are at the lowest risk for negative effects from the virus.<\/p>\n<p>S.B. 1303 did not allow the CDC to act as a \u201cwild buffalo that goes rampaging through the Virginia code,\u201d Burnham continued. \u201cThe CDC does not have plenary power to govern the state of Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, \u201cschool boards in Virginia are not independent sovereigns\u201d that can act in contravention of the governor\u2019s authority and the oversight power of the General Assembly, he continued.<\/p>\n<p>LCSB\u2019s punitive measures used to impose the mask mandate also violate S.B. 1303 because it guarantees the right to in-person schooling, but the LCSB is suspending and segregating students based on whether they wear masks.<\/p>\n<p>In defense of the mask mandate, LCSB argued that masking has been the \u201cparadigm in place since the beginning of the school year\u201d and is therefore the \u201cstatus quo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Burnham, however, pointed out that masking for children was not in fact the status quo, as there was no other part of their life in which they were required to wear a mask, except for school. Furthermore, even if it were the status quo, it does not diminish the authority of parents to allow their children not to make or the governor to reverse the mandate when weighing public health options in an EO.<\/p>\n<p>The lawyers pointed out that at least 21 students are currently suspended for not wearing a mask, asking Fisher for an immediate order so that they could return to school. One such 13-year-old student and her family filed an amicus brief in today\u2019s case with the support of the American Constitutional Rights Union, represented by the Schaerr Jaffe law firm. The family\u2019s affidavit was among the evidence Ferguson presented to the judge.<\/p>\n<p>District Superintendent Scott Ziegler said in an announcement:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>We ask our families to help us maintain a healthy and safe learning environment by staying vigilant and taking precautions that protect against the transmission of COVID-19, including outside our school buildings. We will continue to keep our families and community informed of any future changes to our mitigation strategies.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The case is&nbsp;<i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Barnett v. Loudoun County School Board<\/i>, No. 22-546 in the Circuit&nbsp;Court&nbsp;of Loudoun County, Virginia.<\/p>\n<p><em>Breccan F. Thies<\/em>&nbsp;<em>is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter&nbsp;<a title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LEESBURG, Virginia \u2014 A Loudoun County, Virginia, judge struck down the mask mandate imposed by the Loudoun County School Board (LCSB) Wednesday evening, immediately allowing students to attend class without &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1304929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1304929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1304929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1304929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1304929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}