Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin sought to put an end to mask mandates in the state's schools through an executive order within hours of taking office on Saturday.
The Republican effectively gave Virginia parents the right to exempt their children from mask requirements imposed on schools in the state and was met with almost immediate opposition from some school districts.
Despite Youngkin's decision to roll back school mask mandates, one of his own children attends a school out-of-state that imposes its own mask requirements on students.
One of the governor's sons, Thomas, attends the prestigious Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Maryland and that school has introduced its own mask mandate.
The school issued its COVID-19 policies for the school year 2021/2022 on August 24, 2021 and they are still available on its website.
The school's policy states: "At this time, Georgetown Prep requires all persons, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks while indoors on campus, except while eating meals or while residents are in their own dorm room."
"Masks must also be worn during any indoor school-sponsored activity off campus, including during transport (e.g. riding buses for a field trip, an away athletic game, and taking the shuttle from the Metro school, etc.)," the school says.
Youngkin's executive order—one of a flurry of orders he issued on his first day in office—states: "The parents of any child enrolled in a elementary or secondary school or a school based early childcare and educational program may elect for their children not to be subject to any mask mandate in effect at the child's school or educational program."
"No parent electing that a mask mandate should not apply to his or her child shall be required to provide a reason or make any certification concerning their child's health or education," the order says.
It will take effect on January 24 but some school districts have said they will keep their mask requirements in place after that date.
Georgetown Prep's COVID policy is comprehensive and the school mandated vaccination for students, faculty and staff on July 20, 2021.
"The only exceptions made to this mandate were for those with medical or religious exemptions," the school's policy says.
The school also requires unvaccinated students to be tested each week, while unvaccinated individuals who are deemed to be a close contact are required to quarantine for 14 days.
Georgetown Prep cites guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in support of its COVID policies. The CDC currently recommends that all children over the age of 2 years wear masks at school in indoor settings.
Newsweek has asked Glenn Youngkin's office for comment.
