Schools must follow CDC guidelines, Northam says. For now, that means requiring masks.

School districts that aren’t requiring masks, including several in Hampton Roads, are running afoul of state law, Gov. Ralph Northam said Thursday.

His basis is the law that requires schools to open fully in-person this fall. A provision also requires schools to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the “maximum extent possible.”

The second requirement had been largely overlooked and is getting attention now only in the wake of last week’s recommendation from the CDC that, in light of rising coronavirus cases across the country, schools should require masks for everyone.

“I don’t know that it can be any simpler than that — it’s the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and I expect our school districts to follow the law,” Northam said.

But Northam’s remarks mark the first time state officials emphasized the provision. It went unmentioned in the guidance issued two weeks ago that “strongly” recommended masks but told districts the decision was ultimately theirs. Districts were only advised to review CDC guidance.

This latest wrinkle reflects how polarizing the debate over masks has become despite the near-universal recommendations of health officials that everyone, not just children, should resume mask-wearing indoors in light of the new, more transmissible delta variant.

The law gives a bit of political cover to everyone: Northam and school boards, whose meetings have become ground zero for the fight over masks, can all point to the CDC’s rules. Northam told those who don’t like the law to take it up with their legislators.

However, the political cover is unlikely to calm the fights over masks, particularly now that some districts’ plans have been upended. In Hampton Roads, Chesapeake and York County, whose board voted just this week, will have to rethink their decisions to make masks optional or accept the risk that comes with ignoring state law.

The law in question started as a one-sentence bill introduced by Republican Sen. Siobahn Dunnavant in January that would’ve immediately opened schools.

The Senate passed the law in a bipartisan 26-13 vote after it was amended to take effect July 1. At the time, the state’s decision to leave reopening to school districts had led to a patchwork of reopening plans.

The bill faced a tougher path in the House of Delegates.

Democrat Del. Kelly Fowler was part of the group that worked on coming up with amendments that would make it more palatable to House Democrats. The language about CDC recommendations was one of several changes.

The bill cleared the House on a 88-9 margin, with the support of groups including the Virginia Education Association and the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“It was a concern about safety,” Fowler said. “I know there’s a lot of confusion, but it really comes down to, school boards are required to follow CDC recommendations.”

Beyond masks for staff and children aged 2 and older, the CDC recommends schools adopt a layered approach to prevention: Encouraging vaccines for those eligible, a least 3 feet of social distancing, proper ventilation, handwashing, staying home when sick, contact tracing and cleaning and disinfection.