“If it was working…that would be one thing,” said Jessica Mendez, a Loudoun County mom whose two daughters want to opt out of mask-wearing. “But it’s not working now, the cloth masks aren’t working, so why are we continuing this charade?”

To some parents it feels like déjà vu. They learned the hard way that draconian COVID interventions meant to keep children safe can actually hurt them. Northern Virginia’s schools were closed to in-person learning for a full year, from March 2020 until well into 2021. Then, as now, local leaders were ultra-cautious and seemingly impervious to changing science and cost-benefit analysis.

The results of that decision were devastating, causing failing grades to jump by as much as 83 percent and more than 10,000 students to leave Fairfax, a formerly celebrated school district. Arlington Public schools saw crucial early literacy numbers drop dramatically during virtual learning, with disproportionate impact among minority students, English language learners, and those with disabilities. Alexandria’s public schools lost enrollment for the first time in 14 years and implemented mandatory summer school to cope with severe learning loss. The number of students who passed state math assessments in Loudoun County was down by almost 20 percentage points.