The Arlington (Va.) Public Schools system announced on Twitter this afternoon that schools in the district will defy Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order and will keep its mask mandate in place:
@APSVirginia will maintain our current mask requirement for students, staff and visitors. Masks 😷 required inside our facilities and on school buses. Full post ➡️ https://t.co/VNWoSQKPeF
— Arlington Public Schools (@APSVirginia) January 15, 2022
And off to court we go!
Parents have the choice now. Comply or file suit. The science doesn’t back your position.
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 16, 2022
Youngkin didn’t go into details but he “threatened to use state resources to force schools to comply”:
Exclusive: Governor Youngkin on Arlington school system saying it will require masks, despite Youngkin’s order stating that schools can’t do that. He threatened to use state resources to force schools to comply – but we still don’t know what that means exactly. @WTOP https://t.co/5Lijz9kbgd pic.twitter.com/SnC4dcCIar
— Nick Iannelli (@NickWTOP) January 16, 2022
White House press secretary Jen Psaki, herself a parent of a kid in the district, cheered on the move:
Hi there. Arlington county parent here (don’t believe you are @GlennYoungkin but correct me if I am wrong). Thank you to @APSVirginia for standing up for our kids, teachers and administrators and their safety in the midst of a transmissible variant. https://t.co/6UeNIYoZCU
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) January 17, 2022
Update: Does she even have a kid in a public school though?
Your kids attend public schools? https://t.co/iUSuPRajUA
— Jon Gabriel (@exjon) January 17, 2022
So, she’s okay with her kid having to wear a mask for most of the day indoors while talking to the teacher but she won’t wear a mask indoors when talking to journos?
Someone, please ask her at the briefing tomorrow why kids have to wear masks all day long but she doesn't when speaking to journos indoors. https://t.co/fUngUC0sl0
— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) January 17, 2022
We must’ve missed some science along the way. . .
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Editor’s note: We’ve added an additional tweet to this post.