The Board Needs To Adopt a Mask-Choice Resolution ASAP

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Today I sent a request to our Board of Trustees to add a mask choice resolution to their next agenda. 

​At the July school board meeting, many parents - nervous about the return of masks to LA and San Diego schools - stepped forward to express to the Board of Trustees their concern about something similar happening in CUSD. They asked the Board for reassurances that masks would not be forced on our students once school returns. Everyone who spoke said if mask mandates return, they have plans to pull their children from our public schools and make other arrangements. 

Superintendent Brulte insisted there must have been a miscommunication and told us CUSD is continuing to follow California Dept. of Public Health recommendations, which so far do not include school masking mandates.

We parents did not find this to be an acceptable answer. If CDPH guidelines change, we have no guarantee the Board will not trap our students in another mandate. Therefore, we are asking our Board of Trustees to add a resolution to the agenda for the next meeting, committing to resist any more mask mandates. Passing a resolution will help restore a measure of trust between parents and the Board, and will give parents a measure of certainty as we head into the new school year. Our children deserve consistency after a brutal two years of uncertainty. Our districts are locally controlled, and we have the option of resisting mandates. 

I am encouraging all concerned parents to download the resolution included in this post (I've also copied the entire document below) and send it to our Trustees, with a note requesting they add a mask choice resolution to the agenda. Please feel free to CC me on the the email at kiraforschoolboard@protonmail.com. Together, we can help ensure our children return to school confidently and happily.
​
Trustee emails: 
Martha McNicholas mmcnicholas@capousd.org
Krista Castellanos klcastellanos@capousd.org
Gila Jones gijones@capousd.org
Judy Bullockus jlbullockus@capousd.org
Lisa Davis LADAVIS@capousd.org
Amy Hanacek ahanacek@capousd.org

Board Resolution on Mask-Choice for K-12 Schools
WHEREAS, numerous studies and the CDC confirm that children are at an incredibly low risk of severe disease,  long-term side effects  and death from COVID-19,  with a mortality risk substantially less than from influenza  or common activities such as riding in a car or swimming; and
WHEREAS, numerous studies found low case rates in countries where schools did not require masks, and studies published by the CDC and the COVID-19 School Response Dashboard found no difference in case rates between schools with and without student mask mandates; and 
WHEREAS, recent studies have shown that mask wearing can impact a child’s language development, emotional development, interpersonal communication,  and overall physiological and psychological health; and
WHERAS, Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) parents should be able to send their children back to school in full confidence that their children will be able to learn mask-free and be able to engage in mask-free communications with their educators
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that this Board establishes the following goals:

• Advocate in writing to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for parental choice in masking should CDPH choose to recommend another masking mandate.
• Commit to parental choice in masking children in public schools.
• Ensure that mask mandates will NOT return to CUSD.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Board is committed to assisting schools in returning to normalcy in the classroom, including the commitment to oppose mask mandates.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Board will transmit official copies of this resolution to the following: Superintendents for all school districts within the county, the County Department of Public Health, the County Department of Education, California Congressmembers, the California Governor, the California Department of Public Health, and any other entities the Board deems appropriate for this resolution.
Adopted this ____ day of __________________ in 2022.
Motion made by: Second made by: Members voting “aye”: Members voting “no”: Members abstaining: Members not present:
 
CITATIONS
1.     https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Face-Coverings- QA.aspx
2.     https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12- guidance.html
3.     https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR21-214.aspx
4.     https://maps.schools.covid19.ca.gov/public.html
5.     https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/146/2/e2020004879
6.     https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2771181
7.     https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/05/study-number-of-kids-hospitalized-for- covid-is-overcounted.html
8.     https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/29/exclusive-long-covid-has- minimal-impact-children-studies-show/
9.     https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/24/most-children-with-post- covid-disease-recover-within-six-months-study-finds
10. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782164
11. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/pediatric-hcp.html
12. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-021-01590-8
13. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#demographics
14. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/2019-2020/2019-20-pediatric-flu- deaths.htm?web=1&wdLOR=cFF98CDC7-76A9-482E-995F-4BF669C8B244
15. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/18/briefing/kids-covid-and-delta.html
16. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2026670?query=TOC&fbclid=IwAR 3fY8mbKoRontMlt-PNhZ7QK1h0SXxJ6Hoq7AOe4wn2TTIK6OPHApy7ISA
17. https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560- 7917.ES.2020.26.1.2002011
18. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7021e1.htm
19. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.19.21257467v1
20. https://www.contagionlive.com/view/comparing-covid-19-and-influenza-course- in-hospitalized-children
21. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/25/997467734/childrens- risk-of-serious-illness-from-covid-19-is-as-low-as-it-is-for-the-flu?sc=18&f=1001
22. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/26/its-time-children-finally- get-back-normal-life/
23. https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Is-it-safe-to-fully- reopen-California-schools-16224689.php
24. https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/93453?trw=no
25. https://about.burbio.com/school-mask-policies-by-state/
26. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/advice-on-the-use-of-masks-in-the-community-during-home-care-and-in-healthcare-settings-in-the-context-of-the- novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)-outbreak
27. https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-children-and-masks-related-to-covid-19