Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued 11 executive orders just after taking office at noon Saturday, including an end to the mask mandate in Virginia schools. The order "delivers on his Day One promise to empower Virginia parents in their children's education and upbringing by allowing parents to make decisions on whether their child wears a mask in school," Youngkin's office said in a news release.

In a letter to school division staff and families emailed at noon Monday, Jan. 17, McDade said schools' "layered mitigation strategies" would remain in effect when schools reopen Tuesday. The school division initially announced before Youngkin's inauguration that the school division's existing mask mandate would remain in place.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - Three Chesapeake schools are moving from "yellow" to "red" status on Tuesday, meaning the schools will temporarily switch to online learning. Students at Georgetown Primary, Norfolk Highlands, and Southwestern Elementary will learn online from Jan. 18 to 21. The schools are moving to "red" status because COVID-19 cases in the schools have increased.

HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) - Hampton students and families got a chance to start the vaccination process at a clinic in Hampton on Saturday morning . Those 17 and under were eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine, while adults also had the option to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

A Virginia first-grade boy fell asleep while on a bus drive to school Thursday and woke up alone in the bus parking lot next to Newsome Park Elementary School. Newport News Public Schools confirmed the incident and told the Washington Examiner the situation is being investigated.

A surging omicron variant has sent ailing transit agencies into a heightened sense of crisis, prompting a fresh round of service cuts that have left passengers unsure whether they have a ride to work or school. Throughout the pandemic, bus operators have transported essential workers to jobs and riders who lack other alternatives to their destinations.

Fredericksburg City Public Schools will continue to require that staff, students and visitors wear masks while inside schools, the division announced Monday morning. "Layered prevention strategies have been successful in reducing the spread of COVID-19 in our schools which has allowed us to provide in-person learning that is required by Virginia law," the division noted in a press release.

UPDATE: The following letter was released to Fauquier County Public School parents the morning of Monday, Jan. 17: "On Saturday, Jan. 15, Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed Executive Order Number Two, addressing mask-wearing in schools. Because this order does not go into effect until Monday, Jan.

LEBANON, Va. - When four Lebanon High School students were recently summoned to the principal's office during second period, they weren't sure what was going on. It was good news, said 18-year-old Isabella Ashby, who was asked by Principal Joseph Long to read an email message aloud to her three engineering classmates and their teacher, Jani Purtee.

BRISTOL, Va. - The Bristol Virginia School Board unanimously selected Breanne Forbes Hubbard to fill the unexpired term of Tyrone Foster Thursday. Forbes Hubbard, 36, works as population health specialist for the Virginia Department of Health's Mount Rogers Health District.