The principal called law enforcement after trying to force the parent to mask the child.
QUICK FACTS:
- A California dad is speaking out after being escorted off school property with his 4-year-old son for not forcing a mask on his child.
- School officials and police confronted the boy’s dad on Thursday at Theuerkauf Elementary School in Mountain View, a city in Silicon Valley.
- A video of the dad and son’s exchange with teachers was posted online in which principal Michelle Williams can be seen informing the pair that the boy wouldn’t be allowed in mask-less.
- The day after the incident, the Mountain View Whisman School District changed its policy at their nine elementary and two middle schools, saying that students are no longer required to wear face masks.
- However, the boy’s dad stated that the district’s policy change is a week-by-week on/off switch and that the change is far from a permanent one.
WHAT THE TEACHER AND OFFICER HAD TO SAY:
- “I’m sorry, he’s not able to come in unless he has his mask on,” Williams said on camera. “I welcome him here, and I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again; I want him here, but it is our district’s policy that students have to wear a mask.”
- “He is a lovely child. We are here to support and serve him,” she added. “I am here to serve all our students on our campus. I cannot keep spending time on this same issue. I’m going to have to have you removed from campus if you do not leave at this time.”
- The police officer called to the scene addressed the dad’s frustration, saying, “I can’t say what they are doing is wrong; I can’t say what you are doing is wrong. Both sides have valid points. For me, I just have to ensure on the campus as a whole that kids get their education.”
- “You seem like a good dude, you seem like a good father,” he added.
BACKGROUND:
- In contrast to the majority of Californian schools, where masks are now optional, Mountain View School District has held to a different policy since early in the pandemic.
- Only three school districts in the state are still enforcing mask regulations, according to the 4-year-old’s dad. Mountain View was one of the last dominos to fall in school masking policies.
- COVID cases in the area, which is one of the nation’s most affluent, were at 544, which is down significantly from the peak of 5,127.
