Virginia parents outraged as kids face school suspensions for going maskless: 'It symbolizes control now'

Virginia parents are calling out public school systems after students faced suspensions for failing to comply with mask mandates, despite Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive order for schools to be mask-optional. 

During a Wednesday appearance on "Fox & Friends First," Loudoun County parent Clint Thomas said his daughters’ school is suspending National Honors Society students, community volunteers, and other student leaders such as his daughters for pushing back against "woke" educators defying the governor’s order. 

"We do feel like it is about control and grooming, and they’re excited to actually get the suspension if it means setting kids and teachers free all across our state," Thomas told co-host Todd Piro.

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Thomas went on to say that his daughters plan on wearing their suspensions as a "badge of honor" symbolizing their fight for freedom and against progressive policies that could impact future generations. The Loudoun County father added that public schools have strayed away from "true education."

"There are other places to get educated. We don’t have to subject ourselves to this," said Thomas.

Meanwhile, Fairfax County mother Stephanie Lundquist-Arora says her sons have been suspended for the past week over a "dress code violation," which Lundquist-Arora believes is a result of their school mask policy violation. 

"I think that [the school administrators] know they’re on shaky ground legally because they kind of put that bureaucratic nuance in to suspend them not just on a mask mandate—because I think they know that’s illegal," said Lundquist-Arora. 

The Fairfax County mother said that what she loves about Youngkin’s mask-optional mandate is the same thing she loves about the Bill of Rights, which is "putting power back into the hands of people."

"Is this really about masks? I’m not sure that it is," added Lundquist-Arora. "I think this is about tyranny versus freedom. I think the mask symbolizes control now."

A third Virginia parent, Abbie Platt, told "America's Newsroom" co-host Bill Hemmer that her daughter was suspended from middle school for arriving without a mask. The young girl's father was allegedly told that it was "his job" to encourage his daughter to wear the mask and head into the school building. 

"[The principal] asked us, ‘what is your endgame?' And I said, look there is no game in this. This is not a game for us. I'm a mom. I want my children to be in class, to have in-person learning. They're playing politics with our children," Platt said Wednesday. 

In a letter to parents, Blue Ridge Middle School said: "A student who is suspended because of non-compliance with COVID-mitigation measures may return to school only when they agree to follow COVID-mitigation measures throughout the entire school day and at all indoor school-related events."

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Two dueling lawsuits are likely to add clarity to Youngkin’s order. Three families have filed a lawsuit against the Loudoun County school board for upholding a mask mandate, a direct violation of the order which allows parents to opt out of having their kids wear masks in schools. 

On the other end of the spectrum, seven Virginia school boards have filed suit and are asking the Arlington Circuit court to immediately block the governor’s order, claiming that it violates Virginia state law.