This week the Legislature ordered everyone to wear masks at the Capitol indefinitely, even as Dr. Fauci himself testifies in Congress without one. I just wish this farce were our biggest problem.
The far more serious matter is our kids: California remains one of the only states with a school mask mandate, and there’s no sign of this changing for the Fall.
But parents are fighting back. I’ve written a letter in support of a Healthy Kids Resolution that will be considered by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors this Tuesday. Here is a copy you can propose in your county. (Update: the board passed it on a 4-1 vote)
In Florida, kids have been in classrooms with no mask requirement for a year. Peer-reviewed studies show there’s no benefit. Simply put, our state is causing kids pain for no good reason. There’s a term for that.
Gavin Newsom knows this. When he finally lifted the general mask mandate, he tweeted “enjoy the fresh air” to the lucky adults who were now free to breathe without his interference.
But the suffocating uniformity of masking aligns perfectly with his education agenda: shutting down charter schools so families have no options; requiring critical race theory so students won’t think for themselves; cancelling advanced math.
And of course, spending more money: now $26,355 per pupil in LA. Meanwhile, California’s pre-COVID rankings – 46, 48, 47, and 47 in 4th and 8th grade math and reading – are certainly worse following the nation’s longest school shutdown.
After we get rid of masks and get rid of Newsom, our next step is fundamental education reform based on local control and school choice.