But a Washington Post analysis shows that the majority of Virginia public school districts - enrolling more than two-thirds of the state's students - have opted to disobey Youngkin's mask-optional order. As of Wednesday, two days after the order was supposed to take effect, 69 districts, or 53 percent, are still requiring masks for all students inside schools.

Virginia educators and parents on Wednesday urged the community to send positive experiences with teachers to Gov. Glenn Youngkin's new email hotline aimed at collecting information about school happenings that parents perceive as divisive.

A lawmaker who proposed that every Freedom of Information Act request in Virginia be done by certified mail asked that his bill be struck on Tuesday. The Virginia Press Association, the nonprofit Virginia Coalition for Open Government and the Virginia Municipal League, an association that represents local governments, had opposed the bill from Del.

BRISTOL, Va. - The Bristol Virginia Industrial Development Authority board voted 4-2 Wednesday to serve as the city's financial conduit to obtain funding for a new elementary school.

Unlike Monday night's tense moments regarding masks, Hanover County's School Board met again Tuesday night to a much more congenial crowd that offered overwhelming support for Hanover Superintendent Michael Gill's proposed $277.5 million budget.

Two of Hampton Roads' most powerful legislators are on a collision course when it comes to education policy, but both are confident in their vision for the commonwealth's schools. Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) and Del.

Democrats on the House Education Committee gave broad support to that would once again require school principals to report many misdemeanor-level offenses to law enforcement. The legislation, which passed the committee Wednesday on a 16-5 vote, would roll back a 2020 law that passed under Democratic control that made it optional for principals and superintendents to report certain incidents committed on school property.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - A new "divisive learning" tip line for Virginia's parents is raising some eyebrows among educators and community members in the commonwealth. The tip line, created by the governor's office, serves as a way for parents, students and teachers to report educators and schools who use "divisive teaching practices."

Lynchburg Mayor MaryJane Dolan sent a letter this week reprimanding Ward IV City Councilman Chris Faraldi following Friday's Lynchburg City School Board meeting. The mayor's letter, which Faraldi since has posted on his website, chides him for his "unprovoked interruption and use of vulgar language" during the board meeting, in which the board voted to continue its mask mandate for students despite a recent executive order from Gov.

More than half of Virginia's school buildings are more than 50 years old, and the problem of how best to repair or replace them has grown to Godzilla-sized proportions. Although no titanic kaiju is going to knock these buildings over, they're falling into disrepair all on their own.

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) - Come Thursday, Chesterfield parents won't have to mask their kids in school. Following a 2-3 vote, Chesterfield County Public Schools is among the latest districts falling in line with Governor Glenn Youngkin's executive order. The order gives parents the choice to unmask their children in school.