Virginia Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit on COVID Mask Mandate

The Virginia Supreme Court last week dismissed a lawsuit by parents seeking to override Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order eliminating school mask mandates to protect against COVID-19.

However, the court’s ruling left open the possibility of additional lawsuits. It dismissed the parents’ lawsuit for procedural reasons, saying the writ of mandamus they sought is not justified under the circumstances.

The justices offered “no opinion on the legality of [the executive order].”

A writ of mandamus is a court order to public authorities to do something that is their duty under the law or to refrain from doing something that violates government policy. The state supreme court said the writs are reserved only for extraordinary circumstances.

The justices also overturned a decision three days earlier by an Arlington county judge who issued a temporary restraining order against Youngkin’s order.

The judge said the governor lacks authority to veto decisions of local school boards trying to protect the health and safety of students. His ruling did not consider the propriety of a writ of mandamus.

Youngkin issued the executive order on his first day in office last month. Some school boards decided to comply with it while others continue to defy it.

Attorney General Jason Miyares said that there are "better risk mitigation strategies and vaccines” to protect children, rather than masks.

Kevin Martingayle, an attorney who filed the petition for the parents in Chesapeake, said the supreme court ruling on procedural grounds means, “This is far from over.” The court did not deny that school boards have “a degree of discretion” under state law to require masks.

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