The Loudoun County school district is threatening to suspend students who enter school buildings without a mask starting Wednesday.
The father of Potomac Falls High School student Nicholas Sanchez, who was segregated from classmates last week after he refused to wear a mask, said he received a notice from the principal, Brandon Wolfe, warning that his son would be removed from school Wednesday if he continued to disobey the mask requirement.
“Beginning on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, students who willfully continue to refuse to follow COVID mitigation measures as required by Loudoun County Public Schools will be suspended from school in relation to Violation of School Board Policy 8210, Introduction to Student Discipline, Section F.2. Willful or continued disobedience of school rules and regulations or school personnel; 3. Defiance of the authority of any teacher, principal, or other person having authority in the school,” the letter obtained by National Review read.
“A student who is suspended because of non-compliance with COVID-mitigation measures may return to school only when they agree to follow COVID-mitigation measures throughout the entire school day and at all indoor school-related events. Suspension will continue if COVID-mitigation measures are not followed,” it read.
Sanchez’ father said that in a conversation with Wolfe, he told him that the suspension order came from superiors. When the father asked if Wolfe had any discretion in the matter, he reportedly said it was “above him.”
The letter referenced another newsletter from January 23, authored by the superintendent Scott Ziegler, which reportedly laid out the suspension protocol for the first week of February. However, the newsletter appears to have been taken down from the website.
Ziegler and Wolfe did not immediately respond to request for comment.
With multiple schools in Virginia defying Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive order making mask-wearing optional in K–12 education, some students have mobilized to resist by arriving at school unmasked, in many cases resulting in their exclusion from the student body. Sanchez, for instance, was relocated to the auditorium to learn online in isolation with an administrative chaperone.
At some schools, like Woodgrove High School in LCPS, parents and students have organized protests against mask rules, which they claim blatantly violate Youngkin’s directive which is supposed to give them a choice.
Last Monday, seven school boards announced lawsuits challenging Youngkin’s order, which is expected to be adjudicated in the coming weeks.
Despite the pressure and combativeness it’s faced, the Youngkin administration is standing firmly for choice, urging insubordinate schools to respect the rights of parents on masking. The office has created a tip line for students and parents to “communicate any reports of disciplinary action, separation, or expulsion to helpeducation@governor.virginia.gov.”