Thank you for choosing to download the Virginia State Religious Exemption to Masks Form.
There are three documents for you to download.
Document 1) General use exemption form. This form contains the required language to provide the school to enable you to claim a religious exemption. These religious beliefs have been affirmed to be correct interpretations that align with the Christian faith by five local Central Virginia Pastors of varying Christian denominations including baptist, Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, Augustine Presbytery, Orthodoc Presbyrtaian, and non-affiliated. Who has countersigned this form for you. Their signatures simply affirm that these beliefs are consistent with the Christian Faith from a diverse background of interpretations of Christian scripture (the Bible).
Document 2) This document has copies of the three legal code sections that enable you to claim a religious exemption. The first code section in the document is the actual “health emergency oder” issued by VA Health Commissioner Norman Oliver and the Northam Office. The second code section is the Virginian Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination for access to public accommodations (including schools). The third code section is a section from the 1964 Federal Civil Rights act that establishes that any violation/discrimination based on religious grounds is a federal violation, not just a state violation.
We HIGHLY RECOMMEND including submitting these code pages with your exemption form. So that the schools understand that they have a legal obligation to not discriminate based on religious beliefs and that the Health Commissioner has specifically identified masks as being subject to such laws.
Document 3) This is a similar document to the first, however, some school districts MAY require you to get a signature from your local pastor, rather than accepting the signatures we have already received from local religious leaders affirming the statements as true. As such this form is available for those who reside in the counties that do have such requirements. In general, however, the school/government should not make you prove (litmus test) your religion.