Fairfax County Public Schools

Family files lawsuit challenging FCPS Covid quarantine requirements

Published February 8, 2022 at 2:00PM | Updated February 25, 2022 at 11:45AM

Kids looking outside while in COVID-19 quarantine (via Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash)

While the fight over masks has dominated headlines, Fairfax County Public Schools faces another potential courtroom battle over its quarantine policy for students exposed to someone who tests positive for COVID-19.

The parents of two Sunrise Valley Elementary School students have filed a lawsuit against FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand, School Board chair Stella Pekarsky, and Fairfax County Health Department Director Gloria Addo-Ayensu, calling the 10-day quarantine requirement unconstitutional.

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FCPS can keep mask requirement for now, judge in lawsuit rules

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 4, 2022 at 5:30PM | Updated February 4, 2022 at 6:47PM

FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand wears a face mask (via FCPS)

Fairfax County Public Schools will continue requiring face masks after notching a victory in its lawsuit against Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order prohibiting school mask mandates.

Arlington County Circuit Court Judge Louise DiMatteo granted a temporary injunction today (Friday) to Fairfax County and the six other school boards suing Youngkin, allowing them to enforce their mask requirements until a permanent ruling is made.

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Political tensions add complication to FCPS superintendent search

By Angela Woolsey

Published February 1, 2022 at 2:00PM | Updated September 19, 2024 at 11:21AM

Fairfax County Public Schools

Wanted: a superintendent for the 10th largest school division in the U.S.

Desired traits include, but are not limited to, effective communication skills, experience interacting with diverse communities, a willingness to listen without being swayed by the loudest critics, and the ability to find creative solutions to existing problems while also planning for the future of education — one that is, hopefully, post-pandemic.

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Fairfax County school, health officials back universal masking in town hall

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 25, 2022 at 11:30AM | Updated February 25, 2022 at 11:45AM

Irving Middle School students wear face masks in class (via FCPS)

Updated at 11:50 a.m. — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 8-1 this morning to support the continued mask requirement in schools and approved a letter directing Virginia to work with local health and school officials on metrics for making masks optional.

Earlier: When students across Fairfax County returned to classrooms today (Tuesday), they came wearing the most contentious, must-have accessory of the school year: face masks.

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JUST IN: FCPS, other school systems sue Gov. Youngkin to stop optional mask order

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 24, 2022 at 9:30AM | Updated July 26, 2022 at 11:14AM

(Updated at 5:25 p.m.) Fairfax County Public Schools and six other school divisions, most of them in Northern Virginia, have sued to stop Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s order that makes face masks optional in schools.

As first reported by The Washington Post, the lawsuit was filed in Arlington Circuit Court this morning (Monday), asking the court for an injunction to stop Youngkin’s order from being enforced.

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FCPS proposes adding more religious occasions as holidays for students, staff

By David Taube

Published January 19, 2022 at 2:00PM | Updated April 6, 2023 at 11:18AM

The Fairfax County School Board is looking at adding more holidays, including Diwali and Yom Kippur, to a proposed calendar for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year.

The board reviewed a proposed calendar from Fairfax County Public Schools staff during a work session yesterday (Tuesday), with a vote on the matter scheduled for their next regular meeting on Jan. 27.

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JUST IN: FCPS will go virtual on Thursday, citing snow in forecast

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 19, 2022 at 1:00PM | Updated February 25, 2022 at 11:47AM

A Fairfax County Public School bus in snow (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Updated at 1:50 p.m. — A Winter Weather Advisory for Fairfax County, with the National Weather Service predicting up to 2 inches of snow from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow.

Earlier: All Fairfax County Public Schools students will participate in classes online tomorrow (Thursday) for the first time since February 2021.

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Fairfax County Public Schools still requires face masks, pushing back against new governor’s order

By Fatimah Waseem

Published January 18, 2022 at 9:30AM | Updated February 25, 2022 at 11:48AM

Face masks (via Mika Baumeister/Unsplash)

Fairfax County Public Schools plans to maintain its mask mandate despite Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order removing masking requirements in schools across the state.

The school system was one of several in the Commonwealth, particularly Northern Virginia, that pushed back against the freshly inaugurated governor’s order over the weekend.

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FCPS reports hundreds of COVID-19 cases, over 1,500 quarantines

By David Taube

Published January 14, 2022 at 2:00PM | Updated February 25, 2022 at 11:51AM

After only five days of in-person instruction so far, Fairfax County Public Schools has reported 620 COVID-19 cases and quarantined 1,534 students this month.

FCPS has paused 11 classes since schools reopened after winter break on Monday (Jan. 10), spokesperson Julie Moult said in an email, meaning in-person learning was suspended to enable contact tracing.

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BREAKING: Fairfax County School Board takes sexual assault lawsuit to U.S. Supreme Court

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 13, 2022 at 2:00PM | Updated March 15, 2024 at 2:45PM

Supreme Court (via SCOTUS)

(Updated on 1/14/2022 at 4:30 p.m.) The Fairfax County School Board has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a former student’s sexual assault lawsuit, a move that could reshape how the federal law against sexual violence in schools is interpreted.

A petition filed by the school board on Dec. 30 argues that public school systems can’t be held liable for sexual harassment and assault unless officials knew an assault took place and could have prevented it.