Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin defends executive order on school mask policy

Virginia's governor is defending his executive order on school mask mandates in a new Washington Post op-ed. Glenn Youngkin says parents can now choose what they feel is right for their children.

WASHINGTON - Virginia's governor is defending his executive order on school mask mandates in a new Washington Post op-ed. Glenn Youngkin says parents can now choose what they feel is right for their children.

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Youngkin says his executive order doesn't prohibit masks in schools, or mask mandates -- it just gives parents the right to opt-out, FOX 5's Melanie Alnwick reports.

7 VIRGINIA SCHOOL BOARDS FILE LAWSUIT CHALLENGING GOV. YOUNGKIN’S UPDATED SCHOOL MASK ORDER

"There is no one better to determine what is best for their children, especially after two years of a pandemic, than their parents," Youngkin says in the Post.

Youngkin also signed an executive order to ban schools from teaching "divisive" topics, Alnwick reports. His office now has an email address where they are asking parents to report if they see or hear anything in their child's school that they believe is divisive.

Earlier this week several school boards in Virginia filed a joint lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Youngkin's updated school mask order.