To mask or not to mask? Parents express concerns ahead of school year Starting next week, Virginia will let school divisions have the final say for COVID-19 precautions for the upcoming school year, including who should have to wear masks. and last updated 2021-07-22 18:21:47-04 RICHMOND, Va. -- Starting next week, Virginia will let school divisions have the final say for COVID-19 precautions for the upcoming school year, including who should have to wear masks. Wednesday, the Virginia departments of health and education released joint guidance on the precautions. They said that while divisions should consider community level conditions regarding the virus and public health recommendations in adopting their precautions, the two agencies said Virginia "strongly recommends" several policies including masks for everyone in elementary schools (regardless of vaccination status) and masks for unvaccinated people in middle and high schools.