Youngkin: We will make it very clear parents have choice to mask child
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says new bill to end school mask mandates will empower parents to have the choice on masking their children.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said on Wednesday that his bill ending the mask mandate in schools is to reinforce to parents that they have a right to choose.
"Virginia has been leading, Virginia will continue to lead, I’m very excited that a bipartisan group came together to pass this bill, which I will sign into Virginia law and we will make it very clear that parents, in fact, have the right to make a decision with regards to whether their child wears a mask or not," Youngkin told "America Reports."
YOUNGKIN BLASTS MEDIA 'MISPERCEPTIONS' OF HIS SCHOOL MASKING POLICIES
Youngkin vowed to sign a bill Wednesday that will give parents the choice to opt out of school mask mandates. The legislation cleared both the Virginia Senate and House over the last week.
"If Youngkin attaches an emergency clause, it will take effect immediately. If he does, the bill will go back to the legislature, where it will require a majority vote from each chamber, which could take just a matter of days. Without the emergency clause, the bill wouldn't take effect until July 1," according to FOX 5.
Youngkin said school districts will not be able to enforce their own mandate despite Virginia law banning mask mandates in schools.
"Well, this is going to become Virginia law, and so there really isn’t the ability to do that. This bill is very clear. Any authority, whether it’s a local school board or a local board of supervisors or, by the way, the state government that wants to mandate masks parents will have the ability to opt-out … This is about empowering parents … "
Youngkin scolded school boards for "trying to hang on to authority in many places," predicting that history will not "look kindly upon them."
School boards "that aren't looking out for kids' best interests and actually listening to parents, I think will actually be held accountable by parents."
The governor vowed that Virginia children will "be educated in Virginia in a way that's consistent with parents' values."
" … Virginia schools are going to work for kids," he promised. "They're going to work for our kids, not for the education unions, not for the school boards, but for the kids."
Masked learning has seen both academic and relational declines, Youngkin noted.
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"And here's a moment for us to help our kids get back to normal."
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