Lawmakers in the Virginia General Assembly gave final approval to Senate Bill 739 (Dunnavant) and Governor Glenn Youngkin signed the bill into law Wednesday afternoon.
This
legislation requires, except in the case of the 10 unscheduled remote learning
days otherwise permitted by law or in certain cases of student discipline, each
school board to offer in-person instruction to each student enrolled in the
local school division in a public elementary or secondary school for the
minimum number of required annual instructional hours.
The bill allows
the parent of any child enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school, or
in any school-based early childhood care and education program, to elect for
such child to not wear a mask while on school property. The bill provides that
no parent making such decision to be required to provide a reason or any
certification of the child's health or education status and that no student
shall suffer any adverse disciplinary or academic consequences as a result of
this parental decision.
The bill
includes additional language requiring each local school division to
comply with the provisions of subsection C of § 22.1-2.1 of
the Code of Virginia, as created by this act, no later than March 1, 2022.
VSBA encourages
your Board to review Senate Bill 739 and consult with your school board
attorney regarding questions on implementation of the provisions found in the
legislation.
