Bellefonte parents say unmasked students face ‘discrimination’ as statewide mandate takes effect
The universal mask mandate for Pennsylvania schools is now in effect, and parents at one local school district voiced concerns Tuesday about how the mandate is being handled.
Last week, local superintendents sent letters to parents about the mandate and what it meant for students, but some parents attended Tuesday’s Bellefonte Area School District Board of Directors meeting to question how their unmasked children were treated on the first day the order took effect.
Superintendent Tammie Burnaford said during the meeting that in each school building, about 10% of the students’ parents filed an exemption to wearing a mask.
At least nine parents said their kids were “discriminated” against for not wearing a mask and were told to sit in another part of the classroom.
Suzanne Dixon said her two children in high school experienced chronic headaches from mask wearing last year and was relieved when an exception form was presented and approved for her kids.
“I told my kids that they had nothing to fear about going to school unmasked because all of their teachers will be notified and they wouldn’t be treated any differently,” Dixon said. “Unfortunately what they experienced today was not what any of us expected.”
Dixon said her daughter was singled out and was told to sit away from her classmates, and wasn’t allowed to participate in a group lesson. Her son was told that if he wanted to participate in a lab, he had to wear a mask, she said.
“Neither of my children were prepared to be singled out and segregated from their classmates today,” Dixon said.
Leah Guizar said the district failed on the first day of the mask mandate.
“Today it was our first day with the new order and we failed, our district failed. Our children were separated, segregated and singled out and we are mad as hell,” she said. “Based on their personal beliefs and decisions, our children are treated differently because they chose to stand up. This is wrong, and this needs to be addressed and corrected immediately.”
The state health secretary’s order includes several exceptions to the requirement, including that wearing a face covering would “cause a medical condition, or exacerbate an existing one, including respiratory issues that impede breathing, a mental health condition or a disability.” The order states that “All alternatives to a face covering, including the use of a face shield, should be exhausted before an individual is excepted for this (o)rder.”
Burnaford did not return a request for comment Wednesday from the Centre Daily Times about the district’s policies for unmasked students. But on Tuesday, Scott Etter, the board’s solicitor, said that any kind of differentiation between students is going to be discrimination, but the issue is whether or not it is “unlawful discrimination.”
“I obviously was not present in every classroom, I don’t know what went on in any kind of classroom, but you have students moved around the room and be in the same classroom as they would otherwise be in, I did not view that in general as unlawful discrimination, although there could be circumstances where I might suggest to Mrs. Burnaford that maybe we can consider doing something a little bit different in each classroom,” he said.
The masking order says school officials who do not enforce it could face criminal sanctions and civil lawsuits.
Board president Jon Guizar said the district needs to look into the allegations and do a better job at communicating.
“A lot of the things that were said tonight, they’re very upsetting if they’re true; you never know how much things get exaggerated from one person to the next ... but I think there’s some serious reflection that we have to do as a district, and I know that we’re committed to doing that,” he said.
Board member Kimberly Weaver apologized to those who felt they were bullied for not wearing a mask and said she hoped the administration would make changes. She also shared her view on the state’s mask mandate, which is being challenged in court by Senate Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Benner Township, and a group of parents.
“If you have ever worked in education we know that we are taught to differentiate our teaching, scaffold our lessons to meet our students needs. We are told there is no cookie cutter plan for teaching because each student is unique in their learning account. However the government just blanketed the entire state with a cookie cutter approach regarding the mandate. I’m sad and disgusted and annoyed,” Weaver said.
After saying that local school districts should make decisions about masking, Gov. Tom Wolf changed his stance amid a surge in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths driven by the highly contagious delta variant.
The next BASD board meeting is 7 p.m. Sept. 21.
This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 5:21 PM.
