The Alexandria School Board has overturned ordinance requiring face masks for students in Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS), yielding to newly passed state requirements.
The vote was, in some ways, an empty gesture. The bill signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin requires that public schools treat masks as optional for students, with no punishment for students who either choose to wear a mask or choose not to.
Superintendent Gregory Hutchings and Chief of Student Services and Equity Julie Crawford confirmed that there’s little “wiggle room” in the state legislature.
“The bill still in effect, whether we do anything to the policy or not,” Hutchings said. “This bill was written in a way that has no wiggle room. There’s no gray. It is what it is.”
School staff said they are still recommending mask wearing for students. The policy also applies to students but not staff, who are still required to wear a mask in school.
“This could be a period of anxiety for families and students,” Crawford said. “We’ve been sharing with them that masking has helped protect them and those around them, and this will be a big transition.”
There was discussion about possible forms for faculty to keep track of which students have opted out of wearing a mask, but Crawford said teachers were concerned about becoming “mask police.”
Crawford said the bill also covers buses, where students can still go mask free, and most athletics training and games were already headed into a mask-less outdoor season.
The School Board voted unanimously to overturn ACPS’ masking requirements.
Recent Stories

Alexandria Women for Good donated $6,720 to Alexandria’s Community Lodgings from their first donation cycle! They toured one of the learning centers, met some of the staff and kids, and handed over a big check.
Alexandria Women for Good is a newly formed local Grapevine Giving Circle composed of local Alexandria women who make the commitment to give back to the local community regularly and intentionally. Each quarter they raise money to give to local nonprofits making a difference.
For more information visit: https://www.grapevine.org/giving- circle/3y6h4Ay/Alexandria-Women-for-Good
Pictured left to right: Laura Herron, Laura Turner, Kate Wiley from Community Lodgings, and Laura Bloodgood

Hi, my name is Moneim Z., and I am a blind male with chronic kidney disease, who needs a living kidney donor for a transplant. My blood type is B+, and I can accept a kidney from individuals who have blood types B and O.
To read my story, please see the attached letter.
To contact me directly, please email me at [email protected] or call at 571-428-5065. My living donor coordinator at INOVA Hospital, Amileen Cruz can be reached at (703) 776-8370 , or via email at [email protected]
Thank you!