蜜桃影视

The national spat over face masks 鈥� which have become a symbol of divisive partisanship in the pandemic era 鈥� has officially reached the schoolhouse gate. As some students return to in-person learning after months of campus closures, a viral photograph has turned a Georgia high school into the latest culture war battlefield.

The photo, which shows a crowded hallway and many students without face coverings, prompted outrage on social media, and several students say they were suspended. But the students they got in trouble for using their cell phones to post pictures of the crammed campus on social media, not for refusing to wear a mask.

The incident highlights a difficult question that school administrators face as students return to school amid a slew of new health recommendations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention students and teachers to wear masks at school, and many states require them 鈥� but should schools discipline students who fail to follow public health mandates?

鈥淭here is no question that the photo does not look good,鈥� Brian Otott, the superintendent of Georgia鈥檚 Paulding County School District, said in a letter. Although the district encourages students to wear masks on campus, it isn鈥檛 a requirement. 鈥淲earing a mask is a personal choice, and there is no practical way to enforce a mandate to wear them.鈥�

The photos 鈥� and Otott鈥檚 refusal to enforce a mask policy 鈥� were met with derision by some on social media. Several Twitter users ridiculed the district for its stance on face masks while enforcing a dress code policy whereby students, and girls in particular, can be punished for wearing shirts without sleeves.

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But Caroline Durham, the legal and policy director of the social justice group Georgia Appleseed, pushed back on instincts to punish children who refuse to wear masks. Students are more likely to fall behind if they鈥檙e excluded from school, she said, and suspending students is 鈥渙ne of the first steps of a child going down what they call the school-to-prison pipeline.鈥�

鈥淭he question is, how do we deal with children who can鈥檛 weigh the risk of COVID [or] may not understand the significance of wearing masks?鈥� she said. Rather than focusing energy on discipline, she said, schools should spend their time teaching students about the importance of safety precautions, especially at a time when the face mask debate is so fraught among adults. 鈥淚f you suspend a child, if you expel a child for behavior they perhaps don鈥檛 fully understand, you鈥檙e impacting the education that they鈥檙e going to get at a time where things are already challenging.鈥�

The issue is also unfolding outside Georgia as cities resume in-person instruction. In New York City, Chancellor Richard Carranza to send students home if they refuse to wear masks in class once in-person learning begins in September. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that New York schools could reopen for in-person learning in the fall.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 cooperate, you have now elected for remote learning 100 percent until you are willing to follow the safety protocols,鈥� Carranza said, according to Chalkbeat. Students who are sent home won鈥檛 be suspended and will be able to participate in remote learning, a district spokesperson told the news outlet, but it remains unclear how officials plan to confront children who refuse to leave. A Department of Education spokesperson didn鈥檛 respond to a request for comment.

In several Iowa cities, including Des Moines, education leaders have imposed their own rules on masks. But Iowa鈥檚 education department has statewide because enforcing them could be difficult. In South Carolina, for students but declined to impose disciplinary measures for students who don鈥檛 comply.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not putting it in the student conduct, disciplinary matrix,鈥� a South Carolina Department of Education spokesman told The Greenville News. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to see it be used to get law enforcement involved or anything of that nature. We鈥檙e really counting on people to take this on as a personal responsibility.鈥�

After a summer in which school districts nationwide have reconsidered placing police in schools, officers said they don鈥檛 want to enforce mask mandates either. Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, said during the group鈥檚 national conference last week that enforcing mask rules lands outside the scope of officers鈥� duty.

鈥淚 believe this falls into the arena of the school administration to handle and that [school-based police] should be the responsible adults setting the good example,鈥� he said during the virtual event. 鈥淚 hope that鈥檚 the way that we鈥檙e all approaching it. That鈥檚 where we preach the issue of 鈥榙on鈥檛 get involved in school discipline.鈥欌��

Police officers outside the school setting are also reluctant to enforce mask rules, according to , a company that sells police policy manuals. Just 3 percent of officers who responded to the survey said they should issue fines to people who refuse to wear masks in public.

Cities have also had to grapple with how to enforce mask mandates. In Denver, for example, for residents who refuse to follow public health guidelines. Children over the age of 3 are required to wear face masks in public spaces, and people who refuse could be fined up to $999 or jailed for up to 300 days.

However, the city has focused primarily on education about the importance of wearing face masks during the pandemic, and officials have said enforcement will be reserved for 鈥渢ruly egregious situations.鈥�

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