An Arlington judge issued an order Tuesday temporarily blocking Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) from overriding mask mandates in seven Virginia school districts.

       Those districts — Fairfax County, Alexandria, Richmond, Hampton, Falls Church, Prince William County and Arlington — can continue to enforce mandatory masking policies until their legal challenge is decided. But Arlington Circuit Judge Louise DiMatteo did not issue a statewide injunction against the governor’s executive order making masks optional in schools across the commonwealth.

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       A spokeswoman for Fairfax County Public Schools, the largest in the state with 180,000 students, said in a statement that “we believe it would be sensible” for the Youngkin administration to stop enforcing the order altogether “and allow its validity to be finally determined in this proceeding.”

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       A spokesman for Youngkin has said the governor would appeal the judge’s ruling. The spokesman, Macaulay Porter, previously said that “the governor will never stop fighting for parents’ ability to choose what is best for their children.”

       So far, the majority — 70 — of Virginia’s 131 school districts have opted to defy Youngkin’s order by continuing to require masks in school, according to a Washington Post analysis.

       The Arlington suit is one of several sparked by Youngkin’s executive order. The Virginia Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the governor from a group of Chesapeake parents on Monday, saying the relief they sought is not possible in that court. And the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia filed a federal lawsuit saying the governor’s order violates constitutional protections for students with disabilities.

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       On the other side of the debate, the Youngkin administration this week joined a lawsuit against Loudoun County’s school board brought by parents whose children have been punished for not wearing masks. The Republican opposed mask mandates when campaigning for office last year. “I am delivering on what we promised,” Youngkin said at a recent event.

       DiMatteo declined to weigh in on the inherent value of mask requirements, saying she did not have enough information to come to a conclusion on an “evolving and debated” issue where “reasonable minds can differ.” She found that the school boards that filed the challenge in Arlington were “likely to succeed on the merits of their claim” that Youngkin’s order was “contrary to the clear language” of a state law giving school boards authority to implement covid-mitigation policies in alignment with federal health guidelines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children continue to wear masks in school.

       The state law expires in August, and on Tuesday, 10 Senate Democrats joined Republicans to support new legislation that would explicitly allow parents to opt their children out of masking.

       DiMatteo’s order is in force until she holds a more thorough hearing to decide whether Youngkin’s order was legal.

       Justin Jouvenal contributed to this report.