Students can’t be banned from school campuses for refusing to wear a mask during the upcoming curricular year, educational leaders say.
“The state wants to continue the mask mandate, but there’s no way to enforce it,” San Ardo Union Elementary School District Superintendent Catherine Reimer told The Epoch Times.
“For school districts, we have something in the education code that you used to be able to suspend or send kids home for defiance. If they’re not going to wear the mask, that would ultimately be an act of defiance, and the state doesn’t allow you to send students home for defiance.”
Masks will be required for students and staff at California schools as they reopen for the 2021–22 curricular year, but revised guidance issued by the state on July 12 means local districts will determine how to enforce the mandate if students refuse to comply.
With a return to campus approaching, the San Ardo School District is set to discuss the mandate for students in the next week. While officials will work to comply with the state, Reimer said that since there’s no attempt from the state to enforce the mask mandate in schools, it might be impossible to follow the guidelines.
Meantime, Modoc Joint Unified School District superintendent Tom O’Malley is urging Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Public Health Agency for local control on whether to enforce mask mandates. – READ MORE
Listen to the insightful Thomas Paine Podcast Below --