Covid-19

State moving towards lifting school mask mandate – but for all schools?

kindergarten children in the school classroom
Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

By Guy Page

At yesterday’s press conference, Gov. Phil Scott strongly suggested he supports lifting the Agency of Education direction for a universal mask mandate in all Vermont school districts. 

But if the mandate is listed – will it apply to all schools, or only those with 80% vaccination?

Scott pointed to Feb. 28 as the date on which new, and possibly mask-free, direction will be announced. The following is excerpted from the Agency of Education (AOE) Jan. 14 direction on masking:

“Schools should require universal masking for all students and staff when indoors until February 28, 2022 at which time the requirement will be revisited.

“If it is not extended, after February 28, 2022, masks should no longer be required for all those eligible for vaccination when the vaccination rate among students is equal to or greater than 80% of the school’s currently eligible population [italics added]. Currently, all Vermonters ages 5 and older are eligible to be vaccinated.”

Currently only a handful of schools have reached 80% vaccination. It remains to be seen if a lifting of the AOE “direction” for a universal mask mandate applies to all schools, or only to high-vax schools. 

At the press conference, Governor Scott certainly signaled his desire to see children mask-free:

He told a story about a Vermont mother, “and one of her daughters came home last week, or the week before, and said to her, ‘Mom I don’t mind wearing the mask, but I don’t know what my friends look like.’ And I thought how sad is that they’ve been in school now for two years, they don’t know what their classmates look like, or their expressions on their face. It’s a big part of this – social interaction. 

“If the numbers continue, we’ll have this discussion, we’ll make these decisions, just like we have throughout the entire pandemic. As a team we’ll listen to the experts, our own experts, and determine the path forward. 

“But you know [DFR Commissioner Michael] Pieciak said we have one of the highest vaccination rates in the country amongst kids, by far. And when you look at that, we are more prepared than any other state in the country to do this, to make this move, so we’ll take all that in and we’ll try and give you information on that just as soon as we possibly can.”

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11 replies »

  1. reading the Scott Atlas book he liked to emphasize how small the risk of death is for kids and they tend not to spread the covid while more kids will die from influenza and the kids will spread it to older people. he is not a big believer in masks and certainly not
    when the harm they do for them is considered

  2. Where are the pediatricians? Because we know most of the parents have no backbone nor will pull their kids. It’s simply not convenient.

  3. Revenge of the moms is coming. I can feel it. All of us whose kids haven’t been able to go to school because of masks…or whose kids haven’t been able to breathe and see their friends’ faces, have been storing up our outrage over this injustice. And then there’s all the outrage the kids have stored up. We’ll transform it into a force for good but I think we’ll be seeing some major changes in the coming years after watching this abuse of power by these criminals.

  4. This is pure evil. Forcing kids to mask(when masks don’t work) and get a dangerous and ineffective vax for a disease that isn’t going to harm them is utter insanity. Where are the parents? Why on earth have you allowed this to continue for nearly 2 years of your children’s lives?

    • Why on earth have we allowed this pandemic to kill over 900,000 of our fellow citizens?

      (Excess deaths argue for more than 900,000, but 900,000+ is the offficial tally.)

      On Tuesday more people died in this country from the Corona plague than on any day for over a year.

      Who cares if it’s not me or mine, right?

  5. I agree, VTIndependent, where ARE the parents. And to think that they are allowing their children to be injected with this stuff. It is tragic.

  6. Some of us parents are fighting every single day. While we school our children at home because the schools we pay for REFUSE to educate them. We live in pathetic lawlessness. Schools are blatantly abusing children day after day while posing as if they are morally superior. It is repulsive and shameful.

  7. Vermonters who wish to make a difference and hold officials accountable: Surety bonds provide financial guarantees that contracts and other business deals will be completed according to mutual terms. Surety bonds protect consumers and government entities from fraud and malpractice. When a principal breaks a bond’s terms, the harmed party can make a claim on the bond to recover losses. I assume a claim can be made for the many losses citizens have incurred due to the illegal mandates, illegal jab passports, abuses of power. Time to start making these people feel the pain they have weilded upon the taxpayers.

    • You are correct. Many irrate Moms and Dads are using the Unions and School Board Surety bonds and oaths against them in calling out the many constitutional crimes they have commited against our children. We are in Vermont now and don’t just want the masking mandates to go, but all the evil things you do in your schools that are corrupting the minds of our precious children. We are accomplishing this in great numbers because the law is on our side and your bonding agencies are duly notified of your crimes as part of the process.
      Bondsforthewin.com

  8. Where are the parents? Right here, mucking through two years of BS. I was the vice chair of a unified district school board in the NEK until they left me no choice but to homeschool my now 8 year old and resign from the board. Two years I have worked part time, carting my daughter with me, homeschooling the best I can because I will not have my child filled with fear, afraid of her peers, and strangled behind a useless piece of cloth. But not e very parent is in my position to do it, and those are the kids I feel saddest for. The parent who has no choice. As far as those who lined up willingly to get their kids vaxxed, may it please not be as bad as they tell us it will be for them. Fear is a powerful weapon and it has been wielded effectively for two years. May God forgive those who have succumbed to it.