Oregon resident Jenny Jonak, who has an 11-year-old daughter with autism and health problems that make her more susceptible to COVID-19, said wearing masks is a “very small inconvenience” to protect vulnerable students. The virus is “looking for fractures in the system,” he said, “and we have plenty of fractures in the system.” Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, warned that such stratagems will sow confusion about masks and vaccinations. The vaccine poses a morally compromising situation for many people of faith.” “At the same time, we believe in the freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. His office declined to share the exemption letter. He said in a statement that his church has received thousands of calls from doctors, nurses, teachers and first responders terrified of losing their jobs because they don’t want to get vaccinated. In a neighboring suburb, Pastor Greg Fairrington of Rocklin’s Destiny Christian Church has issued at least 3,000 religious exemptions to people with objections to the vaccine, which is becoming mandatory in an increasing number of places in California. The California Medical Association issued a statement condemning “rogue physicians” selling “bogus” exemptions. Michael Huang, who has a practice in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, declined to answer questions from The Associated Press but told other news outlets that he examines each child and issues exemptions appropriately. In California, the state medical board is investigating a doctor who critics say is handing out dozens of one-sentence mask exemptions for children in an attempt to evade the statewide school mask requirement.ĭr. “By adopting these measures - and ignoring those that are unwilling to acknowledge the current crisis - we can keep our kids in school this year and keep them safe,” the governor said. The question is: ‘who gets to determine the healthcare choices for you and your child?’ In a free society, the answer is the citizen - not the state,” Landry wrote on Facebook.Įdwards accused the attorney general of creating confusion and defended his policy on face coverings. “Louisiana is not governed by a dictatorship. The letters have been shared by GOP lawmakers and thousands of others. John Bel Edwards, posted sample letters that would allow parents to seek a philosophical or religious exemption from Edwards’ mask rule at schools - or from a vaccine requirement, if one is enacted. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican who regularly spars with Democratic Gov. They do not need a medical provider to sign off.īoard member Ali Seeling said the idea is to give parents “the freedom to make health decisions for their own children.” In Kansas, the Spring Hill school board is allowing parents to claim a medical or mental health exemption from the county’s requirement that elementary school students mask up. Under the law, she said, school districts would have to go through a formal process to establish whether a child does, in fact, have a particular mental or physical disability, such as a respiratory condition, that would warrant an exception to the mask rule. In some cases, he said, he believes those problems justify an exemption under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 because they interfere with learning.īut Laurie VanderPloeg, an associate executive director at the Council for Exceptional Children, an advocacy group, cautioned that under the federal law, children would not be allowed to go maskless simply because they asked. Thielman, who is planning to run for governor next year, when Brown can’t seek reelection because of term limits, said he is not anti-mask but is sensitive to parents’ concerns that face coverings can cause anxiety and headaches in children. The state has broken its record for COVID-19 hospitalizations day after day, and cases among children have increased dramatically. Kate Brown said she was shocked that Thielman was undermining her policies by “instructing students to lie” about having a disability.īrown has mandated masks in schools and vaccinations for all school staff amid a surge in infections that is clobbering Oregon. In a letter to educators this past week, Democratic Gov. “I’ve got a majority of my parents saying, ‘Are there any options?’” “The majority of my parents are skeptical and are no longer believing what they’re told” about COVID-19, said Thielman, whose district in the state’s coastal mountains begins classes Monday. Thielman said he hit upon the idea after the governor’s mandate generated “huge, huge pushback” from parents. In Oregon, Superintendent Marc Thielman of the rural Alsea School District told parents they can sidestep the governor’s school mask requirement by applying for an accommodation for their children under federal disabilities law.
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