Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration is joining several Loudoun County parents in filing a lawsuit against their school board’s mask mandate. This is one of two lawsuits filed this week in Virginia over masking in schools. The other, filed by parents of children with disabilities, challenges Youngkin’s executive order that aims to make masks optional in schools across the state.

Youngkin, Attorney General Jason Miyares, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow filed a motion for a temporary injunction and temporary restraining order on Wednesday in Loudon County Circuit Court, hoping for a judge to put a stop to the mask mandate in Loudon County schools while the issue is being litigated. The Loudoun County School Board declined to follow Youngkin’s executive order and instead adhered to COVID-19 recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, requiring all students and staff to wear masks indoors.

Several parents of elementary students in Loudoun County Public Schools then sued their school board on Feb. 1, alleging board members “directly interfered with the rights of each parent here … to make educational decisions for their children.” The parents acting as the plaintiffs in the lawsuit — Kristen Barnett, Heather Yescavage, and former Leesburg District School Board candidate, Colin Doniger — say their children have “been refused an in-person education after arriving at school without a mask” in the complaint. They argue the school board’s mask mandate violates Virginia Code.

“We have always expected this to be settled in the Courts and have complete faith in the legal process. In the meantime, we encourage parents to listen to their school principal until this is resolved in the courts,” said Attorney General Miyares in a statement.

Meanwhile, a second lawsuit filed by parents — including several from Northern Virginia — was filed in federal court, seeking to invalidate Youngkin’s order lifting the statewide school mask mandate. The parents of students with disabilities argue the order violates students’ right to public education under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Executive Order 2 is a blanket ban on school districts requiring universal mask use. It provides for no exceptions,” the complaint says. “It applies regardless of how narrow a mask mandate is (e.g., requiring masks only when students are in classrooms, cafeterias, and other group spaces). It does not recognize that universal mask use may be necessary to protect some children.”

Two other lawsuits are also challenging Youngkin’s order. One was brought by a group of parents in Chesapeake, Virginia, and the other by a group of seven school divisions, including five in Northern Virginia.

Mask requirements in schools have been contentious since the start of Youngkin’s term. Within hours of taking office, Youngkin fulfilled a campaign promise and signed his executive order on making masking optional in schools. A majority of school districts statewide have defied that order, according to the Washington Post. The divide is most pronounced in liberal Northern Virginia.

Youngkin does not have the backing of public health experts. Both the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend universal masking in schools. “An added benefit of universal masking is protection of students and staff against other respiratory illnesses that would take time away from school,” the American Academy of Pediatrics says in its guidance.

This story was updated to mention two previous lawsuits underway in Virginia.