Dear Families,
As you may know, Governor Glenn Youngkin recently issued an executive order that repealed Virginia’s mask mandate for all public school divisions. The repeal is set to take effect Monday, January 24.
After careful consideration of a variety of factors, the Northampton County Public Schools administration and school board have decided to sustain our policy of universal masking for all students. Please know that this was a difficult decision to make, but we feel it is the right one at this time given the rapid spread of COVID-19 in our schools and community at this time.
It is our understanding that, even with the executive order, Virginia commonwealth law allows divisions the flexibility to continue requiring masks if their elected school boards choose to do so. We will continue to seek guidance from the Virginia Department of Education on this matter.
As a division, our top priorities are to protect the health and safety of everyone in our buildings and maintain in-person learning for our students. By continuing to require masks, we can help reduce the spread of the virus and avoid high numbers of exposures, quarantines, and positive cases that can disrupt the learning process.
Click Here to Read Superintendent Lawrence's Letter to Families