'Definitely political': Virginia mom slams school for suspending her sons over masks
A Virginia mom has slammed Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) after her sons were reportedly suspended on dress code violations for not wearing face masks to school.
Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, of Springfield, Virginia, revealed how her sons were among 24 FCPS students suspended on January 25 for failing to wear masks. The mother-of-three said her two younger boys were suspended for 15 days from Hunt Valley Elementary School, but she appealed her older son's suspension in an email to Irving Middle School principal Cynthia Conley, arguing that the allegations were "inaccurate, misleading, and flew in the face of rights of privacy and political freedom." She also argued that the school's action violated Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin's Executive Order 2, which requires Virginia schools to allow parents to opt their wards out of mask mandates.
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"The masks had given them headaches," Lundquist-Arora told Fox News. "They didn’t like wearing them. So they found them problematic." She argued in her appeal that her son was fully within his right to be maskless and that the school's dress code mandates don't supersede state law. The school denied her appeal last week, with the principal saying that "due to his refusal to wear a face mask, the dress code violation was recorded and a consequence was given."
The embattled mother said she thought the move was purely political. "I also think that my sons are being punished for political reasons," she told Fox News. "We had the audacity to actually exercise our rights under the governor's order. And they've never objected so fervently to anything that Gov Northam has done in the past. There was never an issue where Gov. Northam would pass an executive order and the school board would say, 'Oh we're not listening to that, and we're going to pass a policy to circumvent that.' So I think that this is definitely political."
Lundquist-Arora also noted an apparent hint of irony in her son's punishment. "Ironically, actually, when I came to pick up my son, at one point I think in the counselor's office or wherever they held him, there's a sign that says, students who, in order to stay on course for graduation, students should not miss more than nine days in the school year," she said. "And I thought that was particularly ironic given that they just willfully suspended him for nine days over a piece of cloth over his face, or not having one."
The parent activist said she was worried her son's suspensions would be an "impediment to furthering his academic pursuits." She noted that her older son's nine-day suspension made him look like an offender on par with drug dealers, when he's actually "a conscientious, straight-A student who has never been in trouble other than for these politically-charged ‘dress code' violations." Lundquist-Arora is now planning to "pursue legal avenues to fight" and is reportedly going to appeal to the state board of education. "I'm hoping that at the end of the day, justice will prevail and these will be erased," she said. "That's all I can do is hope and fight it. This is completely ridiculous."
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The mother has also been vocal against other measures in recent months, including a new rule passed by the Fairfax County school board that would suspend or expel students for "maliciously misgendering" their peers. "I think it’s inappropriate, completely, for the school to be involved in something so far outside of general education for children," Lundquist-Arora continued. "It’s clearly an activist board we have. It’s basically a totalitarian regime. They like to ban everything they’re against, and mandate everything they’re for," she said. Nonetheless, she thanked fellow parents for speaking out and making an impact as they continue to fight for their children's rights. "Our next steps are to encourage parents and students who disagree with the document to not sign it at the beginning of the academic year," she said. "We further will call for a repeal of all language in the document that compels speech and violates the First Amendment."