Mask, vaccine conflicts descend into violence and harassment
3 years, 4 months ago

Mask, vaccine conflicts descend into violence and harassment

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — The Hawaii lieutenant governor watched in horror as protesters showed up outside his condo, yelled at him through bullhorns and beamed strobe lights into the building to harass him over vaccine requirements. “The heat definitely got turned up this week,” said Shannon Portillo, a county commissioner in Kansas who was berated at a meeting Wednesday in which the board mandated masks indoors for unvaccinated children. Barbara Rosenwein, professor emerita at Loyola University Chicago and author of “Anger: The Conflicted History of an Emotion,” said social media can make minority views look more like the majority. “I don’t think these people are running into old-age homes and telling granny she better not get vaccinated,” Rosenwein said. “I think they’re telling the school teachers because teachers represent an elite that’s teaching their kids.” Rosenwein said there’s no grand, one-size-fits-all solution to talking to a friend or family member who may be taking an anti-mask and anti-vaccine stance to extreme levels.

Social Media School Teachers Green County Face Teacher Vaccine Masks Gibson Mask Rosenwein  public  teachers  county  vaccinated  vaccine  school  mask  teacher  green  face  harassment  conflicts  masks  descend  violence

History of this topic

L.A. Unified to lift indoor mask mandate next week in agreement with teachers union
2 years, 9 months ago

L.A. Unified to lift indoor mask mandate next week in agreement with teachers union

LA Times  

Alberto Carvalho talks with science students at Washington Preparatory High School in South L.A. Please consider your situation and do what is best for you or your child.” The district also agreed to: Maintain a supply of high-grade masks and provide them to employees upon request “Strongly encourage” indoor masking “at every school and worksite through ongoing communications” Maintain a …

A first school day without mask mandates, except in L.A., where teachers union is in talks
2 years, 9 months ago

A first school day without mask mandates, except in L.A., where teachers union is in talks

LA Times  

Third-graders, Alton Chan, left, and Caroline Kim work on assignments Monday at Tulita Elementary School in Redondo Beach, on the first day of optional masking in L.A. County. A sizable number of L.A. Unified parents are frustrated — even livid — that L.A. Unified is not, in their view, “following the science” or “following the health department guidance.” Health officials …

Is it too risky for kids to go maskless at school and day care? What experts say
2 years, 10 months ago

Is it too risky for kids to go maskless at school and day care? What experts say

LA Times  

With mask mandates easing, some parents and schools will have much to think about in the coming weeks. Because children under 5 aren’t eligible to be vaccinated, day care centers with those younger kids “still need to use masks.” Maldonado, who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, said people who say masks and distancing don’t work …

Chicago Public Schools drop mask requirement in classrooms
2 years, 10 months ago

Chicago Public Schools drop mask requirement in classrooms

Associated Press  

CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools will stop requiring face masks for staff and students in the nation’s third-largest school district starting March 14, officials announced Monday. “CPS was one of the first to require universal masking in schools, and we would not be moving to a mask-optional model unless the data and our public health experts indicated that it is …

Florida Gov DeSantis berates students for wearing masks
2 years, 10 months ago

Florida Gov DeSantis berates students for wearing masks

Associated Press  

TAMPA, Fla. — A visibly annoyed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis admonished a group of high school students for wearing face masks at an indoor news conference Wednesday, saying it was time to stop what he called “this COVID theater.” The Republican governor approached the students and asked them to remove their masks as they waited for him at the press …

Some Americans welcome new CDC mask guidance. Others are wary
2 years, 10 months ago

Some Americans welcome new CDC mask guidance. Others are wary

LA Times  

Patrons take off their masks inside Philippe’s restaurant in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. J.B. Pritzker said that the statewide school mask mandate will be lifted Monday in response to the new guidance, although Chicago Public Schools officials said they will continue to require masks “to maintain health and safety measures.” Los Angeles on Friday began allowing people who are …

Virginia adopts plan to end school mask mandates March 1
2 years, 10 months ago

Virginia adopts plan to end school mask mandates March 1

Associated Press  

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Virginia’s General Assembly moved swiftly Wednesday to put the final legislative touches on a bill that bans local school systems from imposing mask mandates on students, joining a number of other states that have taken similar measures. Glenn Youngkin moved even more swiftly, holding a signing ceremony just hours after the bill’s passage Wednesday afternoon with …

As states drop school mask mandates, health experts clash on whether it's too soon
2 years, 10 months ago

As states drop school mask mandates, health experts clash on whether it's too soon

Salon  

As U.S. omicron case numbers drop from their January peak, some states with in-person instruction have started to drop their mask mandates for schools. Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases and associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, Davis, agreed that it's too early for schools to lift their mask mandates. Blumberg noted that …

As state mask rules end, school leaders are in the middle
2 years, 10 months ago

As state mask rules end, school leaders are in the middle

Associated Press  

As some of the last statewide mask mandates in the U.S. near an end, decisions about whether students and teachers should continue to wear masks in school are shifting to local leaders, who are caught in the middle of one of the most combustible issues of the pandemic. If the decision had to be made right away, he said, his …

As mask mandates ease, should California schools be next?
2 years, 11 months ago

As mask mandates ease, should California schools be next?

LA Times  

Third-grade students wear masks in class in August at Montara Avenue Elementary School in South Gate. The CDC “still recommends that all schools encourage students to wear well-fitting masks consistently and while indoors,” Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a radio interview. “I would still keep the mask mandate indoors, but would consider relaxing masks outdoors — if 80% of …

Debate rages over whether kids should wear masks at school
2 years, 11 months ago

Debate rages over whether kids should wear masks at school

NPR  

Debate rages over whether kids should wear masks at school Should we put KN95 masks on children or take all masks off? What's different about this moment is that there's a third camp emerging of parents, doctors and advocates who are pro-vaccine and anti-mask mandates for children, and they're getting louder. KAMENETZ: About two-thirds of large school districts, plus many …

Authorities investigating after man harasses Glendale Unified students for wearing masks
2 years, 11 months ago

Authorities investigating after man harasses Glendale Unified students for wearing masks

LA Times  

A man’s anti-mask tirade against a group of students in a parking lot near Rosemont Middle School in La Crescenta-Montrose was caught on video. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is investigating after a recent tirade directed at a group of Glendale Unified School District students was caught on video. “After Thursday’s incident, it became clear that the Sheriff’s Department did …

Woman charged for threat to bring 'every single gun loaded and ready' if her kids masked at school
2 years, 11 months ago

Woman charged for threat to bring 'every single gun loaded and ready' if her kids masked at school

Daily Mail  

A Virginia mother has been charged with making a terror threat after she vowed to bring guns to her children's school if they were made to wear face masks. Amelia King, 42, has been charged with making a terror threat after telling a school board she would bring 'every gun' to school if her children were made to wear face …

Order to end school mask mandates gets pushback in Virginia
2 years, 11 months ago

Order to end school mask mandates gets pushback in Virginia

Associated Press  

RICHMOND, Va. — School districts across Virginia were taking stock Sunday of the implications of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order that seeks to end mask mandates in schools, with some school systems saying they will continue to require masks. In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Youngkin said he will “consider all options” to preserve an opt-out for parents from …

Wolf expects to let schools set masking rules in January
3 years, 2 months ago

Wolf expects to let schools set masking rules in January

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania school districts will be allowed to modify or end the mask mandate for K-12 students in January, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday, saying it is “time to prepare for a transition back to a more normal setting.” The Democratic governor said that, on Jan. 17, he expects to turn over decisions about masking to local school …

COVID vaccine and mask fury shakes up California schools
3 years, 3 months ago

COVID vaccine and mask fury shakes up California schools

LA Times  

Downtown Sutter Creek in Amador County, where a parent assaulted a teacher because of a COVID-19 mask mandate in schools, according to school officials. In the second full academic year of the pandemic, such behavior has reared its head on school campuses across the U.S. Demonstrators opposed to masking and mandatory vaccination for students gather outside the Los Angeles Unified …

S Carolina court upholds mask ban; trumped by federal ruling
3 years, 3 months ago

S Carolina court upholds mask ban; trumped by federal ruling

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Two days after a federal judge decided that South Carolina’s ban on school mask requirements discriminates against medically fragile students, the state Supreme Court disagreed, in a ruling that won’t change the week’s events. Federal law trumps state law, so the U.S. District Court ruling allowing school districts to require masks is the binding one. The South …

SC school mask mandate ban disrupts learning, groups say
3 years, 3 months ago

SC school mask mandate ban disrupts learning, groups say

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — As the South Carolina Supreme Court mulls the legality of a state rule that effectively bans masks in most schools, health care workers and educators are renewing calls for state lawmakers to repeal the provision altogether. Pediatricians and school nurses joined state education groups at a news conference Tuesday to warn that lawmakers’ inaction will only continue …

South Carolina officials want out of mask mandate ban suit
3 years, 3 months ago

South Carolina officials want out of mask mandate ban suit

Associated Press  

South Carolina officials who have been sued over a law banning school districts from issuing face mask mandates say that they should be removed from pending litigation. In papers filed last week, attorneys for McMaster — a Republican who has said repeatedly that parents alone should decide if children wear masks in schools — argued that the ACLU and its …

Parents of disabled kids sue over Iowa ban on mask mandates
3 years, 4 months ago

Parents of disabled kids sue over Iowa ban on mask mandates

Associated Press  

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A group of parents of disabled students filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to strike down Iowa’s law banning schools from requiring masks, arguing it endangers their health and denies equal access to education. The lawsuit, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and disability rights organizations, adds to the legal pressure facing the law as virus …

State mask bans face federal civil rights inquiries
3 years, 4 months ago

State mask bans face federal civil rights inquiries

Associated Press  

The Education Department on Monday opened civil rights investigations into five Republican-led states that have banned or limited mask requirements in schools, saying the policies could amount to discrimination against students with disabilities or health conditions. In its letters, the department said it’s concerned that the states “may be preventing schools from making individualized assessments about mask use so that …

Ron DeSantis-cited article to oppose mask-wearing for kids falls apart under scrutiny
3 years, 4 months ago

Ron DeSantis-cited article to oppose mask-wearing for kids falls apart under scrutiny

Raw Story  

As Florida has sunk ever-deeper into its third major wave of Covid-19, Republican Gov. You wouldn't know it from reading his article, but the study Zweig cites actually found that the schools it studied with mask mandates for students had 21 percent less spread of the virus than in schools where masking was optional. There's plenty of evidence that masks …

Unvaccinated US teacher infects 26 people in California elementary school
3 years, 4 months ago

Unvaccinated US teacher infects 26 people in California elementary school

India Today  

An unvaccinated teacher in a California elementary school infected most of her students after contracting the Covid-19 Delta variant. “Evidence has repeatedly demonstrated that multi-layer prevention strategies such as vaccination for all children and adults who are eligible; masks for all students, teachers, staff, and visitors; ventilation; cohorting; physical distancing; and screening testing work to prevent the spread of Covid …

How To Help Kids Cope With Being The Only Mask-Wearer In School
3 years, 4 months ago

How To Help Kids Cope With Being The Only Mask-Wearer In School

Huff Post  

blackCAT via Getty Images When Nicholas, 35, sent his son to third grade earlier this month, he did a lot of the usual getting prepared — buying back-to-school supplies, talking to his son about the friends and teachers he was excited to see again. “We’re telling him we’re doing everything we can to keep him and other kids safe.” Countless …

How one unvaccinated, unmasked teacher spread coronavirus to students and parents
3 years, 4 months ago

How one unvaccinated, unmasked teacher spread coronavirus to students and parents

LA Times  

Coronavirus particles emerge from the surface of cells cultured in the lab in this transmission electron microscope image. An unvaccinated, unmasked California elementary school teacher who came to school in May even while visibly sick infected a dozen students with the coronavirus, all too young to be immunized, according to a report published Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease …

More protests follow mask orders in Oakland, Ottawa counties
3 years, 4 months ago

More protests follow mask orders in Oakland, Ottawa counties

Associated Press  

PONTIAC, Mich. — Protesters turned out Wednesday in a large suburban Detroit county, a day after officials said masks would be required in schools, the latest local mandate linked to rising COVID-19 cases. On the other side of Michigan, more than 100 parents and kids showed up Tuesday night in Ottawa County, equally upset with a recent mask order for …

State education board clears way for school mask mandate
3 years, 4 months ago

State education board clears way for school mask mandate

Associated Press  

— The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education overwhelmingly approved a measure Tuesday that gives state Education Commissioner Jeff Riley the authority to issue a universal mask mandate for K-12 public schools. And after the challenges of last year, it will be incredibly important for this year to get off on a strong start.” He also said it is …

Masks required by some schools in defiance of the state rule
3 years, 4 months ago

Masks required by some schools in defiance of the state rule

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A growing number of school districts in South Carolina are defying a provision from state lawmakers banning mandatory face coverings for students. Many districts remain afraid that the General Assembly will withhold state budget money if they defy the order that was passed mostly along party lines in June, when the state was seeing 20 times fewer …

Mask, vaccine conflicts descend into violence and harassment
3 years, 4 months ago

Mask, vaccine conflicts descend into violence and harassment

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “The heat definitely got turned …

Schools Blocking Mask Mandates Could Face Civil Rights Probes, Official Says
3 years, 4 months ago

Schools Blocking Mask Mandates Could Face Civil Rights Probes, Official Says

NPR  

Schools Blocking Mask Mandates Could Face Civil Rights Probes, Official Says Enlarge this image toggle caption Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images The Department of Education is preparing its Office of Civil Rights to investigate schools that have blocked school mask mandates and other efforts to try to keep students and educators safe from COVID-19. Republican-led states like …

Iowa governor lashes back at Biden threat of action on masks
3 years, 4 months ago

Iowa governor lashes back at Biden threat of action on masks

Associated Press  

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds lashed out at President Joe Biden Thursday after he ordered his education secretary to explore possible legal action against states including Iowa that have blocked school mask mandates and other public health measures meant to protect students against COVID-19. Cardona sent a letter to Reynolds on Wednesday that informed her that her …

States banning mask mandates could face civil rights probes
3 years, 4 months ago

States banning mask mandates could face civil rights probes

Associated Press  

In an escalating battle with Republican governors, President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered his Education secretary to explore possible legal action against states that have blocked school mask mandates and other public health measures meant to protect students against COVID-19. In an announcement on its website, the Education Department said policies that ban mask mandates could amount to discrimination if …

AG says 7 counties, 48 school districts mandating masks
3 years, 4 months ago

AG says 7 counties, 48 school districts mandating masks

Associated Press  

Seven counties and 48 school districts have imposed masking and social distancing requirements, the Texas Attorney General’s Office reported Wednesday. Most county and school district masking and social distancing mandates involved urban centers and their suburbs, although a handful involved small-town districts. Nueces County and eight school districts — the Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Coppell and Cedar Hill districts in …

Florida state school board takes steps against two districts over mask mandates
3 years, 4 months ago

Florida state school board takes steps against two districts over mask mandates

CNN  

CNN — Florida’s State Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday at an emergency meeting to recommend investigations into two school districts whose mask mandates defy Gov. Ron DeSantis Joe Raedle/Getty Images The board authorized the state education commissioner “to take all legal steps” against Alachua and Broward counties for requiring people in their school districts to wear masks. Florida Education …

In Florida and Texas, mask orders turn schools into battlegrounds
3 years, 4 months ago

In Florida and Texas, mask orders turn schools into battlegrounds

LA Times  

Kindergarten student Taiden Watkins reads a book Tuesday, the first day of school at Washington Elementary in Riviera Beach, Fla. Carlee Simon, the superintendent of Alachua County Public Schools in Florida, looked forward to welcoming students to the new school year — one in which they would not be required to wear masks and could, at last, see one another’s …

Battle over masks, vaccines roils California recall election
3 years, 4 months ago

Battle over masks, vaccines roils California recall election

Associated Press  

SAN FRANCISCO — The fight over mask and vaccine mandates moved to the center of California’s looming recall election Friday, with candidate Larry Elder promising to swiftly roll back sweeping government orders while Democrats denounced the leading Republican as a science skeptic who would endanger public health. Gavin Newsom in the Sept. 14 election, then any mask or vaccine mandates …

With Most Kids Unvaccinated And Class Starting, Schools Come Up With Safety Protocols
3 years, 4 months ago

With Most Kids Unvaccinated And Class Starting, Schools Come Up With Safety Protocols

NPR  

With Most Kids Unvaccinated And Class Starting, Schools Come Up With Safety Protocols As students head back to classrooms, school leaders are making real-time decisions about how to keep everyone safe from the coronavirus. And this week, we have seen plenty of headlines about back-to-school hiccups, like one Florida district asked hundreds of students to quarantine only two days into …

As some parents protest school mask mandates, experts urge students to keep face coverings on
3 years, 4 months ago

As some parents protest school mask mandates, experts urge students to keep face coverings on

LA Times  

A handful of parents in Chino took to the streets to protest against the recent mask mandate for schools in the Chino Valley Unified School District. “Combining layers of protection that include vaccinations, masking and clean hands hygiene will make in-person learning safe and possible for everyone.” Parents in the Chino Valley Unified School District received a notification last week …

Parents, physicians sue over Oklahoma mask mandate ban
3 years, 4 months ago

Parents, physicians sue over Oklahoma mask mandate ban

Associated Press  

OKLAHOMA CITY — Parents of schoolchildren joined the Oklahoma State Medical Association on Thursday in filing a lawsuit seeking to overturn a state law banning mask requirements in public schools. “This is not a political stance; it is about public health and common sense,” medical association President Dr. Mary Clarke said in a statement. “We must do everything we can …

Republicans take to mask wars as virus surges in red states
3 years, 4 months ago

Republicans take to mask wars as virus surges in red states

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Top Republicans are battling school districts in their own states’ urban, heavily Democratic areas over whether students should be required to mask up as they head back to school — reigniting ideological divides over mandates even as the latest coronavirus surge ravages the reddest, most unvaccinated parts of the nation. Superintendent Rocky Hanna said in a letter to …

Republicans Take To Mask Wars As Virus Surges In Red States
3 years, 4 months ago

Republicans Take To Mask Wars As Virus Surges In Red States

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON — Top Republicans are battling school districts in their own states’ urban, heavily Democratic areas over whether students should be required to mask up as they head back to school — reigniting ideological divides over mandates even as the latest coronavirus surge ravages the reddest, most unvaccinated parts of the nation. Joe Raedle via Getty Images …

ASU requires masks; GOP lawmakers slam K-12 schools that do
3 years, 4 months ago

ASU requires masks; GOP lawmakers slam K-12 schools that do

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — Stark differences in approaches to surging Arizona coronavirus cases continued to appear Wednesday as more medical providers and education institutions announced new measures to stop COVID-19 from spreading and Republican state lawmakers urged the governor to punish local school districts that require students to wear masks. The GOP lawmakers, led by Rep. Jake Hoffman of Queen Creek, released …

Williamson County, Tennessee: Some parents lash out at board that reinstated mask mandate in elementary schools
3 years, 4 months ago

Williamson County, Tennessee: Some parents lash out at board that reinstated mask mandate in elementary schools

CNN  

CNN — Heated arguments spilled into the parking lot Tuesday night after a school board in a suburban Tennessee county approved a temporary requirement for masks in elementary schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “At my hospital, we’re seeing otherwise healthy people in their 30s and 40s getting sick, and the case counts are going up exponentially and some are …

Oklahoma City public charter school plans to defy mask ban
3 years, 4 months ago

Oklahoma City public charter school plans to defy mask ban

Associated Press  

OKLAHOMA CITY — The superintendent of a public charter school in Oklahoma City said Wednesday that students and staff must begin wearing masks indoors, defying a new state law that prohibits such a mandate. Superintendent Chris Brewster at Santa Fe South Schools, a 3,500-student, pre-K through 12 district in south Oklahoma City, also said in a letter on the district’s …

Schools fight back against GOP governors, defy bans on masks
3 years, 4 months ago

Schools fight back against GOP governors, defy bans on masks

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — With the highly contagious delta variant fueling a surge in coronavirus cases just as students return to classrooms, major school districts in Arizona, Florida, Texas and beyond are increasingly defying Republican leaders who banned school mask mandates in several states. “At no point shall I allow my decision to be influenced by a threat to my …

California first US state to order teachers get COVID jabs, tests
3 years, 4 months ago

California first US state to order teachers get COVID jabs, tests

Al Jazeera  

Move is ‘right thing to do’ to protect children as schools begin new academic year, Governor Gavin Newsom says. California has become the first US state to require teachers and other school staff to be vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19, a move Governor Gavin Newsom called “a responsible step” to ensure the safety of children. New York City last …

Florida capital schools go against DeSantis, require masks
3 years, 4 months ago

Florida capital schools go against DeSantis, require masks

Associated Press  

MIAMI — The superintendent of the school district in Florida’s capital said Monday that he will require students to wear masks amid an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations fueled by the delta variant, defying the governor’s attempts to block schools from imposing such a mandate. I can’t.” Ordered by DeSantis, the Florida Department of Health issued an emergency rule last week …

Parents of Florida students with disabilities are taking a stand over masks. They’re suing Gov. DeSantis
3 years, 4 months ago

Parents of Florida students with disabilities are taking a stand over masks. They’re suing Gov. DeSantis

CNN  

CNN — Will Hayes was supposed to start the new school year Tuesday, but instead he’s staying home because of Florida Gov. The order came “in response to several Florida school boards considering or implementing mask mandates,” the governor’s office said, and is meant to “protect parents’ freedom to choose whether their children wear masks.” “If we don’t have enough …

Florida governor threatens to withhold salaries of school leaders who impose mask mandates
3 years, 5 months ago

Florida governor threatens to withhold salaries of school leaders who impose mask mandates

LA Times  

The superintendent of the school district in Florida’s capital said Monday that he will require students to wear masks amid an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations fueled by the Delta variant, defying the governor’s attempts to block schools from imposing such a mandate. I can’t.” Ordered by DeSantis, the Florida Department of Health issued an emergency rule last week saying districts …

Discover Related