8/15/21: Draft Exemption from Virginia Mask Mandate

Draft Exemption from Virginia Mask Mandate:

Whereas, the State of Virginia is not in a state of emergency; Whereas, Virginia’s public schools are not under a state of emergency;

Whereas, the Virginia State Health Commissioner’s Order states that any person who declines to wear a mask because of a medical condition or any person with a sincerely held religious objection to wearing masks in school may request a reasonable accommodation [1];

Whereas, § 1-240.1 of the Code of Virginia states that a parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent’s child;

Whereas, face coverings and masks are not FDA-approved medical devices for the prevention of respiratory viruses;

Whereas, the likelihood of children suffering serious illness or even death from SARS-CoV-2 is similar to or even less than influenza or RSV, and never have outbreaks of said viruses necessitated mask mandates [2];

Whereas, the likelihood of children contracting and spreading SARS-CoV-2 is half that of adults [3];

Whereas, verbal and nonverbal communication is hindered by face coverings and masks, and both forms of communication are important aspects of child development [4];

Whereas, face coverings and masks cause the wearer to breathe through the mouth, and habitual mouth breathing can alter facial development [5];

Whereas, face coverings obscure the image of God (2 Corinthians 3:18) and are an outward, visible sign of submission to the LIES that children are “superspreaders” of Covid-19 and that Covid-19 is not spread by aerosols [6][7];

Whereas, it is my religious obligation to ensure that my children are educated in a manner consistent with our family’s faith (Deuteronomy 6:7, Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians 6:4);

Therefore, for the sake of my child’s health, development, and religious faith, this school system and the Virginia Department of Health may not require my child to cover his/her face with any sort of cloth covering, mask, or shield for the purposes listed in the State Health Commissioner’s Order.

If you have any further questions, feel free to email or call.

Sincerely,__________________________

• [1] https://www.governor.virginia.gov/…/PHE-Order_K-12-8-12…
• [2] https://services.aap.org/…/children-and-covid-19-state…/
• [3] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/…/we-now-know-how…
• [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7755855/
• [5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4295456/
• [6] https://adc.bmj.com/content/105/7/618.long
• [7] https://academic.oup.com/…/doi/10.1093/cid/ciab691/6343417