The power to slow down or spread COVID-19 this fall lies not with doctors and public health experts but with the personal responsibility standards of students from pre-K to universities.
This is the situation elected state lawmakers created with the passage of Senate Bill 658.
It bans schools from requiring students to wear masks unless there is an emergency order in place from the governor.
Masks are a basic safety precaution recommended by every credible medical and public health group in the world. The focus equally needs to be on upping vaccine rates among youth. But, until then, other layers of protection are necessary.
The bill is bad public policy passed in expression of a warped view of freedom. It takes away a prevention measure and flexibility of local school leaders to react swiftly in an ever-shifting pandemic.
People are also reading…
At worst, the lack of prevention will lead to outbreaks of illness and deaths and possibly a return to distance learning. Mask wearing is certainly better than any of those potentials.
Some parents have just now awakened to this information and have become social media warriors, launching petitions, seeking interventions and lodging protests with education officials.
It’s harder to reverse a law than to prevent one.
School officials are doing the only thing they can, rolling out toothless back-to-school plans that encourage mask wearing. Some are using stronger language, like Tulsa Public Schools saying it “expects” mask wearing.
Parents know this is a mess. Kids don’t do things because it’s smart.
It’s how we end up with a dumb fad like the Tide pod challenge, fingerpaint on walls, self-made bangs and calls to the principal’s office.
Most kids are going to wear a mask if it blends in with the school culture as something acceptable. Peer pressure is the time-proven answer for all teenage questions.
With more than 703,000 Oklahoma public elementary and secondary school kids gathering to start school this month, it’s time to consider mask incentives.
When asking my teens for ideas, I got an eye roll from one who said, “Mom, that’s a stupid column idea. You have no idea what school is like now.”
Clearly, I do not know how to motivate teens. But a suggestion from my other kid is TPS-specific.
“I’ll wear a mask all day every day if I don’t have to wear any uniforms or spirit shirts all the time.”
Free dress days are high on the list for those in schools with uniforms: Wear a mask, get to wear jeans and a Gap T-shirt.
Think about that logic. Schools can mandate certain clothing but cannot require proven public health protocols.
Teachers could give extra credit or drop a bad grade for kids who wear masks in class. Maybe give mask wearers extra time at lunch, recess or play centers.
Kids with masks might get time on their phones or other privileges. Maybe have some weekly giveaway of school merchandise or other items.
For certain, adults need to model good public health masking behavior in and out of schools.
For the nonacademic events — pep rallies, homecoming parades, assemblies, etc. — requiring a mask ought to be a minimum. That would be if school attorneys think it passes the spirit of the law.
I argue that that kind of requirement doesn’t deny an education but only provides motivation to do the right thing.
Mask wearing is particularly important for younger children who cannot get a vaccination. They have no other protection than masks, hand washing and social distancing.
Eligible teens (12- to 17-year-olds) have the lowest vaccination rate, at 22.6%, with at least one dose in Oklahoma. That’s not very high and nowhere close to being effective in community immunity.
Hospitalizations are soaring along with new positive cases and an even-more-contagious delta variant raging through communities. Reports are showing more patients in their 20s and 30s coming into hospitals.
Yet the overall vaccination rate has reached about 48% of Oklahomans, with the older age groups having the highest participation rates. Vaccines are showing to be the most effective at lessening the spread and illness if contracted.
This isn’t just about students. It’s about who can get the virus from students, including school staff, family members and anyone they come into contact with in public spaces.
SB 658 didn’t just tie the hands of public elementary and secondary school leaders; it barred public and private Oklahoma colleges and universities from adding prevention actions.
It forbids higher education institutions from requiring students to get a COVID-19 vaccination and from requiring unvaccinated students to wear masks. Dorm life may be riskier.
In the elementary and secondary schools, the only way to have universal face masks is if the governor declares a state of emergency. Even then the local health department must be consulted.
Gov. Kevin Stitt has said he isn’t planning to declare a state of emergency related to the pandemic.
If that doesn’t change, there is nothing local school boards, administrators or the state Education Department can do.
As a refresher for how this came to be, the bill was written by Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, and carried in the House by Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore.
It became a political litmus test, passing along party lines. The Senate approved 38-8, with only Democrats opposing. The House passed 76-18, with the only Republican opposition coming from Rep. Ken Luttrell of Ponca City.
Nothing is political about this virus, though. It doesn’t check political affiliation, race, gender, age or geography. It flourishes in groups and in close contact.
No parent, student or teacher wants a return to distance learning. That’s the only real option for districts in high-infection communities.
Much of this will fall to students and whether they embrace prevention and vaccination when they start school.
Featured video: Vaccine and virus fears ahead of the school year
As the new school year approaches and concerns over the delta variant of the coronavirus heighten, young people and their parents are wrestling with misinformation and vaccine hesitancy.
