Tag: mask mandate

Georgia, 23 Other States File Lawsuit Against Head Start Vaccination, Mask Mandate

The Center Square

Georgia is again pushing back against the Biden administration’s COVID-19 mandates.

Georgia and 23 other states are asking the court to block the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Administration for Children and Families from requiring Head Start program staff, certain contractors and volunteers to wear masks and be fully vaccinated by Jan. 31.

Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr announced the court challenge against the Head Start vaccination and mask mandate Tuesday.

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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Strikes Down State’s School Mask Mandate

Cooper Moran

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday ruled to strike down Governor Tom Wolf’s statewide mask mandate for schools.

The challengers of the mandate, including Pennsylvania Senate President pro tempore Jake Corman (R-Centre) and State Representative Jesse Topper (R-Bedford), argued that the decision of masking should be left to local school boards or parents, not the state government.

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Police Determine Florida School Did Not Commit Child Abuse by Forcing Disabled Student to Wear a Mask

Admin
Girl with mask on and braids

After an investigation, police have determined that a Florida school tying a mask to a disabled student’s face did not count as child abuse, according to Fox News.

The investigation was initiated after seven-year-old Sofia Bezerra, who has Down syndrome, was found to have a mask tied to her head with a nylon string when she got off the bus after school on October 7th. Her step-father, Jeffrey Steel, said that she had left for school that morning without a mask on since she had received a medical exemption to the school’s mask mandate. Steel said that, as a result of her Down syndrome, his step-daughter has an enlarged tongue and breathes primarily through her mouth, which would make a mask more dangerous for her; when she came home, the mask was wet with her own saliva.

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Michigan Department of Health Advises Mask Mandate for All

The Center Square

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will be issuing a face mask advisory effective until further notice. The agency is also offering guidance for the holidays, citing an increase in COVID-19 and flu cases.

MDHHS will issue a Public Health Advisory that recommends everyone over the age of two should wear a face mask at indoor gatherings regardless of vaccination status. The agency recommends establishments implement a mask policy.

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Williamson County School Board Votes to End Mask Mandate

Morgan Nicole Veysey

The Williamson County school board voted to end their mask mandate after Governor Bill Lee passed the new COVID legislation. The school board reportedly voted Friday evening but met Thursday night to discuss the possible outcomes of their mask mandate following the signing of the new COVID legislation. 

The Communiy Impact Newspaper reported that Friday evening, parents received an email from the Williamson County School Board Executive Director of Communications Carol Birdsong.

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Florida School Districts Drop Mask Mandates, End Legal Challenges

Steve Stewart

As the recent COVID wave in Florida recedes, all school districts that previously enforced mask mandates in Florida have dropped their masks requirements.  In addition, a number of school districts that chose to challenge the Department of Health (DOH) rule that banned mask mandates have decided to end their legal challenges to the rule.

Back in October, the Leon County School District – home to the state capitol –  ended a mask mandate policy with a parental opt-out provision. The decision came after the district was found to be violating the DOH rule.

Following the Leon County decision, the Broward County School District voted to remove its mask mandates for all school levels effective November 20th.

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Wilson County School Board Ends Mask Mandate

Morgan Nicole Veysey

The Wilson County School Board (WCSB) recently voted to end the mask mandate for students. In a unanimous vote, the board agreed to remove masks in schools was enforced, that it would end its mandate as well.

During this week’s WCSB meeting, Board Director Jeff Luttrell said that based on the low amount of new COVID cases, “I’m going to recommend that we go back to, that we relieve the mask mandate, and we relieve the quarantine. But I do think… that our COVID policy will adhere to state law.”

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Tennessee Legislature Passes Sweeping COVID Rules Bill Overnight

The Center Square

After hours of deliberation and the formation of a legislative conference committee, the Tennessee Legislature passed a 21-page omnibus COVID-19 bill early Saturday morning to close its special session.

The bill in its original form gained negative attention from several businesses in the state, including the Ford Motor Company, which was the subject of last week’s special session when the Legislature approved $884 million in spending related to Ford’s $5.6 billion electric truck factory outside of Memphis.

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Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs Calls Out Clinton-Aligned Group Involved in School Mask Mandate Lawsuit

Cooper Moran

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs on Tuesday called out a Washington D.C.-based litigation non-profit, which is aligned with the Clinton family, for its involvement in a lawsuit to implement a mask mandate in Knox County Schools.

Democracy Forward, which has filed briefs in multiple lawsuits in Tennessee, has advocated against Governor Bill Lee’s mask mandate opt-out. 

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Pro-Trump Cheney Opponent Speaks Out Against Mask Tyranny in Schools

Peter D'Abrosca

After a battle over masks at Laramie High School in Wyoming ended with a 16-year-old student being arrested for trespassing at her own school, Harriet Hageman, a pro-Trump challenger to Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY-01) issued a statement condemning mask mandates in schools. 

Grace Smith was first suspended for two days from Laramie High School for refusing to wear a mask. After serving her suspension, she returned to school, again maskless. She then politely refused to leave school grounds, and was arrested by officers from the Laramie Police Department. The arrest even triggered a brief lockdown at the school. 

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Commentary: Parents Aren’t Domestic Terrorists

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It is probably an understatement to say that when one group designates another as a terrorist organization, diplomatic relations between the two become strained.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights.”

Truths. Equal. Creator. Rights. Concerned parents want schools to teach truths, not ideologies; operate under equality, not equity; and respect faith in our Creator and our parental rights. These are the fundamental principles from our Declaration that are at stake in American education today.

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Professors Force Students to Mask in Violation of University Rules, with Mixed Pushback

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University systems with bans on COVID-19 mask mandates are taking diametrically opposed approaches to faculty who refuse to comply, offering a real-time experiment in the effectiveness of persuasion versus coercion.

The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) removed biology professor Steve O’Kane from the classroom for the rest of the semester and forced him to forgo a merit pay raise for threatening to grade down students for not wearing masks.

The same day the faculty senate voted to indefinitely postpone O’Kane’s resolution to let faculty require masks in spite of the Board of Regents ban, Cedar Rapids news outlet The Gazette reported.

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Williamson County Board of Education Votes to Continue Mask Mandates in Schools

Bradley Vasoli

The Board of Education in Williamson County, Tennessee voted overwhelmingly Monday evening to extend its mask mandate for COVID-19 prevention until January.

At the urging of Superintendent Jason Golden, school directors initially voted on Aug. 10 to impose the requirement on elementary-school students. On Aug. 26, the board enjoined that mandate on middle-schoolers and high-schoolers as well. The rule would have expired this Tuesday but for the prior evening’s vote. 

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Law Professor Accuses University of Violating Federal Trade Commission Rules with Mask Mandate

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A business law professor who has been put on paid leave for refusing to wear a mask in class is defending his actions with an unexpected authority: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

“[B]y requiring employees to wear a mask, you are promoting the idea that the mask can prevent or treat a disease, which is an illegal deceptive practice,” David Clements, who teaches consumer law at New Mexico State University (NMSU), told provost Carol Parker in a Sept. 13 letter.

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Preliminary Injunction Will Keep Lee’s Mask Order Unenforceable in Shelby County

The Center Square

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Friday that will allow Shelby County Schools to continue to mandate all students wear masks as a way to mitigate COVID-19.

The order blocks Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order that allowed parents to opt children out of school mask mandates. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Sheryl Lipman previously issued a temporary restraining order in the case, which prevented the enforcement of Lee’s executive order through Friday.

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Mayor of San Francisco Goes to Nightclub Maskless, Breaks Her Own Mandate

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San Francisco Mayor London Breed was seen maskless at a local nightclub Wednesday in violation of the city’s current mask guidance, a local news outlet reported.

Videos and photos show the mayor at the Black Cat jazz club in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, along with the Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza and Raphael Saadiq, according to Datebook. Most attendees at the concert were not wearing face coverings as mandated by the city.

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An Analytical Review of the Central Scientific Facts About the Efficacy of Face Masks and Claims They Reduce the Transmission of COVID-19

Admin

In a terse essay titled “Science and Dictatorship,” Albert Einstein warned that “Science can flourish only in an atmosphere of free speech.” And on his deathbed, Einstein cautioned, “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted in important affairs.”

With reckless disregard for both of those principles, powerful government officials and big tech executives have corrupted or suppressed the central scientific facts about face masks. The impacts of this extend far beyond the issue of masks and have caused widespread harm and countless deaths.

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Arizona Police Recruiting in Washington Days After Vaccine Mandate

The Center Square
Arizona state trooper SUV in desert

Arizona’s state police force is in the Pacific Northwest in an attempt to bolster its ranks. The push comes on the heels of news that Washington Gov. Jay Inslee isn’t allowing exceptions to his vaccine mandate.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety announced that they would be in Washington from Sept. 7 through Sept. 19 to recruit potential new officers. 

Their counterpart, the Washington State Patrol, shared Arizona’s announcement on Twitter. 

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Kentucky Lawmakers Override Governor, Ditch School Mask Mandate

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Group of young students at table, reading and wearing masks

Kentucky’s Republican legislature overrode the state’s Democratic governor late Thursday and repealed a statewide public school mask mandate.

The move, reported by the Louisville Courier Journal, came on the final day of a special session called by Gov. Andy Beshear. The mask mandate was repealed as cases in the state increased for the 10th straight week, and as over 30% of Kentucky’s new cases Thursday were in people 18 and younger, according to state data.

The legislature last month moved to significantly limit Beshear’s pandemic-related power, an action that was upheld by multiple judges in the state.

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Commentary: Joe Biden’s Poor Leadership During the COVID Era

Admin

“Get vaccinated,” whispered the doddering, white-haired failure of a president before beating a hasty retreat from the podium. Reporters barked questions at him which neither he nor his handlers had interest in answering, because they have no answers.

Joe Biden has no answers for COVID-19. What Joe Biden has is blame and Otherization for Americans not invested in the tired narratives of his handlers and the managerial elite he represents so badly.

That’s clear. It’s the only true takeaway from the disgraceful, alarming speech Biden gave Thursday.

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Los Angeles Becomes First Major School District to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines for Children

Admin
Young girl getting COVID vaccination

The Los Angeles public schools opened last month with some of the strictest coronavirus control measures in the country. Students and staff are required to wear masks inside and outside, participate in weekly virus testing, and obey social distancing protocols. District staff are also required to get the COVID-19 shot, and now all Los Angeles public school students ages 12 and over are forced to get the vaccine.

On Thursday, the Los Angeles school board voted to pass the student vaccine mandate, with one board member stating: “So I do not see this as your choice or my choice or about my great nieces and nephews and grandchildren or your children. I see this as a community necessity to protect the children under 12 who cannot be vaccinated.”

Los Angeles public school students have until the end of the calendar year to get fully vaccinated, unless they participate in extracurricular activities which requires full vaccination by October 31st. If they don’t comply, students will be pushed into a district-run online learning program. In 2015, California eliminated its religious vaccine exemption and now only recognizes medical exemptions for schoolchildren.

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DeSantis Appealing to Reinstate Stay on Florida Mask Mandate Ban

Grant Holcomb

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has filed an appeal to reinstate a stay on Florida’s mask mandate ban. The filing was an emergency order after Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper lifted a stay after the state’s appeal, permitting school districts to impose mask mandates.

Cooper was the judge who struck down DeSantis’ mask mandate ban last month, siding with parents who have sued to have their districts be permitted to impose a mandate.

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Davidson County Council Endorses Indoor Mask Mandate

Bradley Vasoli

The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee voted on Tuesday evening to urge the Metropolitan Public Health Department’s (MPHD) Chief Medical Director Gill Wright to reinstate a citywide mask mandate for public indoor spaces.

Councilpersons Joy Styles (District 32), Burkley Allen (At-Large), Jennifer Gamble (District 3), Sharon Hurt (At-Large) and Sandra Sepulveda (District 30) sponsored the resolution, which passed with 21 councilpersons in favor, nine opposed and five abstaining.

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Left-Wing Website Editor Bites Gretchen Whitmer, Attacks ‘Mealy Mouthed’ School Mask Position

Cooper Moran
Susan Demas

Left-wing news website editor Susan Demas harshly criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), accusing her of going weak after her refusal to issue a new school mask mandate.

Whitmer has repeatedly claimed she is “following the science” during the coronavirus pandemic, but several of her advisers have recently said their recommendations were to require universal masking in schools and the governor rejected that advice.

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Parents Sue Georgia’s Largest School District over Mask Requirement

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Parents in Georgia’s largest school district are suing the superintendent and school system over its mask mandate, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Four parents are seeking an injunction against the mask mandate at Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), which serves around 180,000 students, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported. The requirement was implemented at the end of July when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended indoor masking for schools amid the rise of the delta variant.

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City of Tucson Joins Two Lawsuits Against Arizona Legislature over Masks, Vaccines, CRT, Police Review Boards, and a Ballot Audit Committee

Rachel Alexander
Tucson City Hall

The City of Tucson is joining two lawsuits against the Arizona Legislature with amicus curiae briefs. The first is a lawsuit filed on August 12 by the Arizona School Boards Association, the Arizona Education Association and other education organizations and activists over HB 2898, SB 1824, and SB 1825, which prohibit mask and vaccine mandates, ban Critical Race Theory, and establish a legislative committee to review the findings of the state Senate review of the November 2020 election results in Maricopa County.

The second is a lawsuit filed by the City of Phoenix over HB 2893, which sets the qualifications for members of civilian review boards including requiring training. It also allows a legislator to submit a request to the Arizona Attorney General for an investigation of “any written policy, written rule or written regulation adopted by any agency, department or other entity of the county, city or town.”

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Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs Knocks Biden Administration for ‘Investigating’ GOP States That Banned Mask Mandates

Cooper Moran

U.S. Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, criticizing the top education official for his “misguided” approach to school mask mandates.

The letter from Biggs follows an announcement from the Department of Education of an investigation into whether state bans on mask mandates qualify as discrimination against kids with disabilities.

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Residents of Democratic Stronghold Genesee County, Michigan Speak to Commissioners Overwhelmingly Against School Mask Mandate

Bradley Vasoli

An informal meeting of the Genesee County, Michigan Board of Commissioners on Monday saw residents turn out heavily against a school-mask mandate for students in grades K-6. 

County Medical Health Officer Pamela Hackert told attendees she imposed the requirement only on those lower grades because she wanted to provide protection to students who do not yet have the option of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

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Wayne County Mandates Masks for Schools, Daycares

The Center Square
inside of a nursery/daycare facility

The Wayne County Public Health Department issued a new order mandating school districts and daycare providers require students, faculty, staff, and visitors to wear a face mask while in school and during school-sponsored indoor events.

The order takes effect immediately directing public, private, and parochial schools and daycare providers to:

Require indoor wearing of face masks for all pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students, regardless of their vaccine status; and,
Require face masks to be worn indoors by all teachers, administrative staff, other employees, parent and guardians, attendees, and volunteers.

The order remains in effect until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention categorize COVID-19 community transmission for Wayne County as “moderate” for at least 14 consecutive days or further notice by Wayne County officials.

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Michigan Democrats Delete Tweet Pointing Out Gretchen Whitmer ‘Declined’ to Issue Statewide Mask Mandate

Cooper Moran

The Michigan Democratic Party deleted a tweet pointing out Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) “declined” to issue a statewide school mask mandate.

As coronavirus cases rise, Whitmer has refused to exercise the powers she used months ago, despite repeatedly claiming she is “following the science,” leaving some to speculate she is now following polling and “political science.”

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Pima County Republican Chair Calls for Arrest of Officials Mandating Vaccine or Masks

Rachel Alexander
Shelley Kais

The chairman of the Pima County Republican Party is calling for the arrest of local officials who mandate the COVID-19 vaccine or masks. In that lower part of the state, the City of Tucson requires vaccinations and the Marana School District requires masks. 

Shelley Kais told the Arizona Daily Independent, “On September 29, any school board member, city councilman, or supervisor who requires masks or vaccines mandates and passports should be arrested ” She went on, “The power grab by our elected officials to play this ‘game of chicken’ is nothing more than political and follows neither science nor good public policy. We will continue to fight for our first responders, our teachers, and the children in Pima County.” 

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Parents Demonstrate Against School Mask Mandate and Health Officer in Kent County, Michigan

Bradley Vasoli

On Thursday, several Kent County commissioners and a packed room of parents expressed outrage over Health Officer Adam London’s mandate that school children wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

London, who issued the requirement mere days before children in the Grand Rapids area headed back to school this Monday, insisted at a board of commissioners meeting that no negative consequences come to children from wearing masks. 

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Patriot Group Members Grill Lt. Governor Randy McNally over Governor’s Executive Orders and Call for Special Session

Laura Baigert

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) was grilled at a Tuesday evening meeting by a large conservative grassroots group in his district that wants the state senate speaker to call a special session to deal with Governor Bill Lee’s executive orders.

McNally said that “a special session is one of the options on the table” and that he wouldn’t rule it out.

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Biden Attacks Tennessee Parents Who Protested Mask Mandates, Threatens Republican Governors Who Oppose Mask Mandates; Simultaneously, He Abandons Americans in Afghanistan

Julie Carr

President Biden attacked Tennessee parents who protested mask mandates for the second time in less than a week in an address delivered at the White House on Wednesday afternoon.

Biden also threatened Republican governors around the country who have banned school board mask mandates, at the press conference, during which he took no questions. He did not address the unfolding military debacle in Afghanistan caused by his reckless decision to remove all American troops before American citizens in the country were evacuated. At present the Biden administration has abandoned thousands of Americans left behind enemy lines in the country which the Taliban overran earlier this month in a matter of days.

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Craig County School Board in Virginia Approves Religious, Medical Exemption Forms for Mask Mandates

Eric Burk

The Craig County School Board decided Tuesday to provide medical mask mandate exemption forms that don’t require a physician’s signature and religious exemption forms, although the medical exemption form requires an explanation.

“I do not think the physician should have to sign off, no physician is going to sign off on any of these forms,” Vice Chair Gina Smith said. “I think as parents we are responsible for our kids and it should be enough just to have a diagnosis or a medical reason that your child doesn’t need to wear a mask.”

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