Oregon OSHA investigated after at least eight complaints were submitted following an announcement from then-superintendent Marc Thielman that masks would be optional at schools beginning Jan. 31. The state mask mandate didn鈥檛 end until March 12.

OSHA determined that the district willfully violated the safety of staff by making masks optional a month earlier, when the omicron variant of the coronavirus was still spreading throughout the state.

鈥淎pproximately 157 employees working inside the school buildings during that time period were potentially exposed to the known health hazards of the infectious coronavirus,鈥� according to the citation issued Feb. 22.

According to documents from the investigation, in addition to violating the mask mandate, employees reported that they were not alerted by the district when others tested positive for Covid and many didn鈥檛 know there was a mandatory Covid safety committee in the school where they could report concerns and issues.

Thielman resigned as superintendent Feb. 22 and is now running for the Republican nomination for governor.

In an interview with the Capital Chronicle Tuesday, Thielman said the fine was lower than he expected.聽

鈥淲hen I heard it was only $43(thousand) I was cracking up,鈥� he said.

Despite his own public statements against the statewide mask mandate in schools, Thielman insisted in interviews with OSHA that it was the board鈥檚 decision, not his, to violate the mandate.

A records request submitted to OSHA from the Capital Chronicle turned up handwritten notes detailing a phone call between Linda Patterson, health compliance officer at OSHA, and Thielman from February 7.

In the notes, Patterson writes that Thielman said it was the 鈥減osition of the board鈥� that 鈥渃loth and paper masks鈥� were 鈥渘ot effective.鈥� According to the notes Thielman said, 鈥淭he board did what it needed to do.鈥�

In her typed up closing memo detailing the employee interviews Patterson wrote, 鈥淭he superintendent was clear, this was not a decision he made, it was made by the school board. He stated that he did not vote, did not need to vote, nor would he have voted.鈥�

Thielman told the Capital Chronicle that he supported defying the mask mandate because 鈥渕asks were harming kids and providing no protection. The government knew and did it anyway.鈥澛�

Oregon OSHA would not say if any other fines would be imposed against the district and the Oregon Health Authority does not have any fines against the district pending, according to an agency spokesperson.聽

The OSHA fine comes on top of the Oregon Department of Education鈥檚 decision to temporarily suspend more than $250,000 of federal Covid-relief money available to the school.聽

The school district has until March 31 to appeal the OSHA decision and fine. So far, none has been submitted, according to OSHA. The district鈥檚 interim superintendent, Sean Gallagher, and the district鈥檚 five school board members didn鈥檛 immediately respond Tuesday to telephone or email messages seeking comment.

The investigation

Of the 15 interviews OSHA undertook with Alsea employees, most said they continued to wear masks after Jan. 31, but only about half of other employees did. Interviewees estimated about 80% of students didn鈥檛 mask. The district had 460 students as of the 2020-21 school year.

Several district employees said they were told not to 鈥渕ask shame鈥� and that they had to follow Thielman鈥檚 order, which led to a chilling effect on reporting violations to school leaders.

The Alsea Education Association, the local union for classified staff, the Oregon Education Association and the Linn Benton Lincoln Education Service District wrote to Thielman asking him to reverse course and stay with the mandate to wear masks.聽

The education service district eventually withdrew its teachers and moved all programs online for the Alsea students it served. This included programming for students with disabilities, according to the documents provided by OSHA through the public records request.

The Alsea Education Association wrote to Thielman in an email that 鈥渢his disregard for the law is also a disregard for the health (both physical and mental) and safety of the entire Alsea community as well as a disregard of your duty to protect the staff and students.鈥�

Several parents emailed Thielman after the decision to make masks optional, wondering why the choice was made. One took her children out of the school building and moved them online.聽

鈥淢y children have a right to a safe and free education,鈥� the parent wrote. 鈥淭he board鈥檚 decision is not backed by science and removes the safety from my kid鈥檚 education.鈥�

Fear of losing licenses

OSHA documents show that teachers were worried about losing their licenses, and Thielman falsely told them their credentials would not be on the line due to the masking decision. In an email to staff Jan. 29, Thielman assured them their licenses would not be in jeopardy, and said that the 鈥済overnment鈥� was going after his license.

Richard Sugarman, a teacher in the district鈥檚 farm school program in Corvallis, was the first to reach out to the Oregon Department of Education and the Eugene office of OSHA following the district鈥檚 decision. He authorized OSHA to disclose he was among those filing a complaint.

In an email to the Education Department, Sugarman said he found the mask decision 鈥渃oncerning and intimidating.鈥� He added that Thielman told staff that the Benton County sheriff and undersheriff had told staff they would cite OSHA for trespassing if agency officials walked onto the school campus.聽

Thielman said in Tuesday鈥檚 interview that he and a board member did go to the Benton County Sheriff鈥檚 Office to notify the agency of the district鈥檚 decision regarding masks and to ask for their help.

鈥淲e notified them of our intention to take back local control,鈥� Thielman said. 鈥淲e said we have a constitutional right to care for our children and our government is lying about the efficacy of masks.鈥�

Thielman said they were told that the agency would see that OSHA investigators didn鈥檛 enter school buildings without a warrant.

A message left with an administrator at the sheriff鈥檚 office requesting an interview about Thielman鈥檚 statements wasn鈥檛 returned by Tuesday evening.

Documents show that OSHA investigators were prepared to inspect the Alsea schools with a warrant but ultimately did their investigation in interviews over the phone, without such a visit.

Thielman鈥檚 resignation

Thielman told the Capital Chronicle that the OSHA investigation was 鈥減oliticized鈥� and used as a way to scare other districts away from defying the mask mandate.聽

The enforcement came down on Feb. 22 鈥� the day Thielman tendered his resignation. Thielman said his resignation was unrelated to the citation.

鈥淚t was serendipitous. I needed to leave the job to run full time for governor,鈥� he said.聽

Thielman said he had been talking about resigning with school board members for several weeks.聽

On March 7, the board hired Sean Gallagher to serve as interim superintendent until June 30.

According to the in Brookings, Gallagher resigned as superintendent at the Brookings-Harbor School District for unknown reasons in 2019 and accepted a separation agreement that paid him an estimated $100,000.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Les Zaitz for questions: info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on and .

A Senate to give parents veto power over school district health measures passed the House Education Committee Monday, teeing it up for a full House vote.

Gov. Brian Kemp has the bill.

鈥淧arents are the best decision makers when it comes to the health and education of their children,鈥� said Kemp鈥檚 floor leader and author of the bill, Buford Republican Sen. Clint Dixon. 鈥淭his legislation ensures that those rights are not infringed on by misguided policies.鈥�

Under the bill, districts could not require face masks unless the rules include an opt-out provision.

鈥淚t does not remove mask rules or say that students cannot wear a mask,鈥� Dixon said. 鈥淩egardless of political party, our children should not be required to wear masks that inhibit learning. Georgia and America, we鈥檙e moving swiftly and safely out of the global pandemic. We need to begin to return to normal, and this is the first step in doing so.鈥�

The bill was amended in the Senate to expire June 30, 2027. Previously, it would have expired at the end of next June. And the governor could still order public schoolchildren to mask up in the case of a new COVID-19 variant or new pandemic.

鈥淭his bill would not prohibit, God forbid, if another pandemic of some other nature, from the governor implementing executive orders that would overrule this bill,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o if, two years from now, if there鈥檚 another pandemic, through executive order, he could require mask mandates, which would overrule this. But as far as the five years, originally, we had it at one year, but given different variants and not being certain how long this particular pandemic will last, we thought that five years would be more suitable as far as making sure that we鈥檙e through this pandemic before this expires.鈥�

Democrats on the committee said the decision to require masks or not should be up to the local school districts or individual schools, not the governor, and expressed worry that the policy could cause increased spread of the disease caused by the virus.

鈥淚鈥檓 just very concerned, because I think we all can agree we need to keep our schools open, and if there should be a variant of this pandemic, masks have been shown to help schools stay open,鈥� said Atlanta Democratic Rep. Becky Evans. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 just afraid about limiting this possibility for school boards to have a mask mandate that parents can just not cooperate with.鈥�

Children generally only contract mild symptoms from COVID-19, but they can spread the virus to others. Quarantines and shut downs the start of the fall semester last year.

Others questioned whether the Education Committee was the best group to weigh the bill.

鈥淐an you tell us what your profession is?鈥� Brookhaven Democratic Rep. Matthew Wilson asked Dixon.

鈥淩eal estate,鈥� Dixon said.

鈥淢r. Chairman, I am not sure how this bill improves student achievement, and since we鈥檝e had some testimony about scientific innovations in regards to masks, I would like to move that we transfer this bill to the Health and Human Services Committee, where it can be properly considered.鈥�

Committee Chair Matt Dubnik declined, noting that House Speaker David Ralston decides which committees hear which bills.

鈥淚 believe that this matter is related to education, I believe in the Speaker鈥檚 office and his determination that this bill reside in our committee, and therefore will not recognize you for this motion,鈥� he said.

Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey did not testify about the bill, but Dixon said she has given it her OK.

鈥淪he met the governor directly,鈥� he said. 鈥淥nce it was explained to her that it would not prevent a child from wearing a mask, she was fine with the legislation, she was also fine with the change to the sunset as well.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com. Follow Georgia Recorder on and .

agree that these changes are appropriate at this point in the pandemic. Many people, weary of the pandemic and its restrictions, gratefully welcome this step, but relief isn鈥檛 universal.

In particular, children may worry about yet another change in the 鈥渞ules.鈥� After all, U.S. children have been consistently schooled on the importance of mask-wearing, and younger children may even have trouble recalling a mask-free world.

So how can adults help children develop coping skills to handle new rules as we navigate changes around mask-wearing guidelines?

We鈥檝e spent the pandemic developing to help children cope with pandemic-related increases in anxiety and digital technology use. We are both university professors; one, ; the other, . Combined, our research can help develop more flexible social guidelines for kids and their mask-wearing.

Moving forward largely mask-free

One consistent finding from studies in , , and is that the pandemic and its frequent changes in school and public health rules have resulted in significant increases in anxiety among children.

Thus it鈥檚 helpful for grown-ups to develop consistent messages for kids that will introduce predictability and stability and reduce everyone鈥檚 anxieties 鈥� but especially children鈥檚 鈥� as we navigate changing mask mandates.

Here are nine research-based tips for establishing and negotiating new social rules that can help you and your children reduce stress and anxiety.

1 Help children anticipate that mask-wearing has to be adapted to the person and the situation.

There will still be many places where kids will be required to wear masks, like doctors鈥� and dentists鈥� offices. But masks will likely be optional in other settings such as schools, libraries, sports centers and other social venues. The key is to explain to children beforehand that different situations will have different rules. .

2 Anticipate times when you may feel uncomfortable.

Decisions about mask-wearing are personal, so it makes sense that different situations may feel uncomfortable for different people. Imagine you鈥檙e sitting at your child鈥檚 sporting event and there are a number of unmasked parents who are seated very close together and cheering for the kids. Or, think about how you would feel if your child got an invitation stating that masks are forbidden. Or, imagine that you鈥檙e required to wear masks when visiting grandparents, but feel uncomfortable doing so. While these scenarios are different, the key to each is to anticipate problems by asking ahead and search for solutions such as physically distancing yourself, masking up for a short time or politely excusing yourself from the event or situation.

3 Be prepared to encounter unresolvable differences of opinion.

In these situations, explain to your child that sometimes others have the right to make these decisions. Hosts get to decide what happens in their home; business owners get to decide about rules in their store. There are often options: You can attend and respect the host鈥檚 wishes, you can try to find a compromise or you can simply not attend. Teaching your child that the rules don鈥檛 apply to them is usually not a good parenting strategy, as it can lead to defiant or even dangerous behavior.

4 Emphasize that circumstances change but the principles remain the same.

To help children feel less anxious about changing guidelines, emphasize that we all need to observe the same consistent rules: (1) do what鈥檚 safe for you and others, (2) think ahead about different situations, and when unclear, (3) ask for guidance. Even if the rules about mask-wearing change again, the process of following these three key steps can remain a stable constant in the lives of children.

5 Be respectful, kind and caring about others鈥� decisions regarding their comfort and safety.

As mask mandates and guidelines change, opinions about mask use will continue to be a sensitive issue. While many can鈥檛 wait for masks to be a thing of the past, there are others . Remind your children that mask decisions can be personal and context-driven. Try to avoid language that is judgmental or demeaning. Teach your kids that bullying a child at school for wearing a mask can be just as bad as bullying one who uses a wheelchair.

6 Address your child鈥檚 questions before different situations and events.

For example, kids may be confused or even upset by going to a play date where masks are required if they went to a maskless one just the previous week. In these seemingly contradictory situations, you may need to discuss with children how it鈥檚 polite and caring to respect a mask request, even if, as a family, you disagree. Explain that there may be extenuating circumstances that aren鈥檛 obvious. Give a clear example they can understand, like a family member who is .

7 Monitor your children鈥檚 anxieties.

It鈥檚 not so much masks or no masks that cause stress; it鈥檚 the cascade of changes that takes a toll. Take time to check in with your children about their feelings. Children can experience stress differently than adults. Things to look for include changes in their sleeping and eating patterns. Talk to them about how they鈥檙e feeling about school and friends as they relate to mask-wearing.

8 If you are hosting an event, be upfront and communicative about what you are expecting.

Let people know in advance what your rules are about mask-wearing: Is it optional or required? When possible, give people who are uncomfortable with your expectations different options. For instance, you may require masks at your child鈥檚 birthday party, but if a parent is uncomfortable with that decision, perhaps their child could come just for the outdoor portion of the party, or even attend virtually.

9 Check in with the other adults.

Is there a reason your family has decided to continue wearing masks, such as having a member of the household who is immunocompromised? Consider sharing your family鈥檚 decision, and perhaps your rationale, with your child鈥檚 teacher. Did your child receive an invitation with no mask guidance? Ask the parents what they鈥檙e anticipating or expecting guests to do. Open communication and checking in can help keep messaging to children more consistent and can lower the chance of a surprising or stressful situation later on.

Emphasizing and modeling empathy and respect for others鈥� decisions in this pandemic can go a long way toward establishing the kind of normalcy and consistency that helps kids feel less anxious.

Elizabeth Englander is a psychology at Bridgewater State University. Katharine Covino-Poutasse is an associate professor of English Studies at Fitchburg State University. They wrote this piece for , where it first appeared.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John Micek for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on and .

The debate over mask-wearing went a step further this week, with some states not only saying they would drop mask mandates in schools regardless of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, but three聽 鈥� Texas, and 鈥� passing legislation prohibiting mask requirements in schools and other places. This prompted Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.7 million-member American Federation of Teachers, to send a May 20 letter to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona seeking clarification and guidance on 10 separate points related to COVID-19 school safety protocols for next school year.

On May 7, Superintendent Kent Edwards of Kearney Public Schools in Nebraska delivered an explosive message to his community that, outside of a pandemic, would usually be innocuous.

鈥淲e are excited to see our students鈥� faces again.鈥�

About a week before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that , the 5,900-student Nebraska district .

Now, since the CDC update, school districts across the country are following suit. Governors including , and have announced that school systems in their state may relax universal masking mandates for the final weeks of the academic year. And districts such as , and are switching to mask-optional policies in the days and weeks to come.

The recent moves, however, go against recommendations from the CDC, which on Saturday clarified that , even for vaccinated teachers and students.

has extended not just to schools, but to friends re-learning to navigate social gatherings, retail outlets concerned for the safety of their employees and countless other settings where masks have long been the norm. While about , including over , youth aged 12 to 15 only last week received clearance for vaccines, and younger students likely will not gain eligibility until early next year.

鈥淥ur school guidance to complete the school year will not change,鈥� said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky on , adding that the federal agency will work this summer to update its COVID-19 school safety recommendations before the fall.

Next school year, however, may not be soon enough in the eyes of some parents.

Earlier in May, protestors gathered outside the Greenville County, South Carolina school district headquarters chanting, 鈥淯nmask our kids.鈥� One woman toted a poster that read, 鈥淔ollow the science, masks don鈥檛 work.鈥� (Research says face coverings do .)

鈥淪ome families would love to see the masks go away 鈥� like today or yesterday. Other families have serious medical concerns. They have people at home with compromised immune systems,鈥� Greenville County Schools spokesman Tim Waller told in response to the protests, adding that the district had received about 20 written comments from parents advocating for mask mandates to stay in place.

Like many other hot-button school policy issues throughout the pandemic, Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Jon Valant sees the dispute over masking in schools as a clash more so over political ideology than safety preferences.

鈥淚t’s happened over and over again that there is this division in responses to COVID鈥� [that] is highly correlated with the politics of the area,鈥� he told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淭he latest case of that may be these school masking rules.鈥�

As schools were first beginning to reopen last fall, Valant鈥檚 research found that districts鈥� decisions about whether to open their doors to students were predicted not by rates of coronavirus spread in the community, but .

鈥淵ou would expect that the places that are being most cautious about going back to school in person or [that enforce] precautions like mask-wearing would be the places where there’s the greatest immediate threat of COVID transmission,鈥� said Valant. 鈥淔rom what I have seen, that has not been the case.鈥�

Debates over face coverings in schools have left many communities heavily divided. In New Braunfels, for example, a Texas town home to two separate school districts, clashing mask policies have pitted neighbor against neighbor and thrust normally apolitical parents into new roles as activists.

In Harlan, Iowa, it鈥檚 not just parents, but also students, who have been left divided by masking policies 鈥� quite literally.

The CDC鈥檚 announcement last Thursday did not spur a change in protocol for Harlan Community School District, but some students began refusing face coverings in school regardless. So the district started .

“Yesterday, I got stopped in the hallway well before I made it to class and pretty much just got put in the auditorium all day,” Jameson Bieker, a high school student who opposes masks told Omaha鈥檚 KETV 7 last Thursday.

This isn鈥檛 a punishment, but rather an accommodation, said interim superintendent Lynn Johnson.

“We’re trying to find the means to continue to keep educating those students, but yet separate them from the classrooms where masks are required,” she said.

Bieker鈥檚 family is suing the school district over its mask mandate, a tactic that anti-mask parents have turned to across the country 鈥� largely .

But as skirmishes play out locally, defending against a pandemic will ultimately continue to be a nationwide effort. Going forward, Valant hopes that leaders look to the country鈥檚 top science-informed guidance to decide what COVID-19 safety policies will be appropriate in schools.

鈥淢y hope is that the decisions that are being made either locally or in state government are rooted in the advice that states are getting from the federal government,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd my hope is that the federal government is putting out the best information that it possibly can.鈥�