A bipartisan majority in the Virginia Senate capped more than an hour of debate Wednesday by voting to pass legislation that would ban public school …
A bipartisan majority in the Virginia Senate capped more than an hour of debate Wednesday by voting to pass legislation that would ban public school systems from imposing mask requirements on students. The measure now heads to the GOP-controlled House of Delegates, which is expected to advance it to Gov. Glenn Youngkin for his signature. Youngkin, whose efforts to end mask mandates by executive order are bogged down in legal challenges, has cheered on the legislation, which emerged in the Senate just a day earlier. “Kids across the Commonwealth win with this bipartisan vote today,” he said in a statement Moderate Democrat Chap Petersen sponsored an amendment on the Senate floor Tuesday to a Republican bill dealing with requirements for in-person school instruction. His amendment, which was adopted with broad bipartisan support, said parents may elect for their child to not wear a mask at school. Petersen said Wednesday, when the amended bill was up for a final vote, that he expected additional dialogue on the issue as the legislative session continues. But he sought to make the case that it was time to stop forcing mandates on families.
