CLARITY: Speakers come to the defense of a frustrated father whose child was excluded from class because he wouldn’t wear a mask.
Acorn News reports: A video on social media showing a 9-year-old Garden Grove Elementary School student banned from class for not wearing a mask prompted an outcry at the Simi Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting.
During the Zoom meeting, speakers voiced their frustration with the school district’s handling of the situation.
The student’s father, Timothy Hernandez, posted to Instagram details about his son being kicked out of school Jan. 7 for “noncompliance with the state’s mask mandate”, which the district says it is required to follow.
Hernandez said that when his son tried to return to the campus to get his schoolwork on Jan. 10, he was first forced out and then locked out of the classroom for “peacefully not complying to wear a mask.”
The video taken by Hernandez shows his son sitting near a fence on the field after allegedly being denied entrance to his class.
“My son is out here by himself because of the whole mask thing,” Hernandez says.
“Today, he refused to leave the campus because he wants to get his studies. He wants to get some kind of education, and they’re not allowing it.”
The video also shows Gene Colato, a school resource officer with the Simi Valley Police Department, approaching Hernandez to inform him that the school is requesting his son be taken home.
Colato explains, the school district is citing an education code that states if a student refuses to wear a mask inside a classroom, “It is a public health problem that excludes the student from being there.”
“Listen, I can’t say I wouldn’t be doing the same thing right now, but at the end of the day, doing it during a school day when kids are on campus is not the time to do that fight,” Colato tells Hernandez.
“There is no fight. We’re not fighting. He’s trying to get an education,” Hernandez responds.
Speaking to incoming Simi Valley Superintendent Hani Youssef, who is standing nearby in the video, Hernandez said, “You don’t care about his ADHD, his mental distress (and) everything else since all of this happened.
“I’m confused how they have that arbitrary power to kick (my son) out after he stated why he won’t wear a mask,” Adding that he couldn’t get a mask exemption from a doctor and that putting his son in independent studies doesn’t work.
Toward the end of the 19-minute video, Colato offered to be the middle man to help address the situation.
“There’s got to be something we can do on both ends so you’re satisfied and they’re satisfied,” Colato tells Hernandez, noting that he would speak with school officials to see what could be done. Going back and forth doesn’t get results, he says.
During the Zoom call, several speakers expressed dismay over the district’s handling of the situation and the mask mandate, which they say doesn’t work to protect against COVID-19. They said masks should be a choice, not a mandate.
“(The student) was not sick or suffering. He was not a danger to anyone. I cannot believe that the district denies his right to his education,” said Simi Valley resident Elena Johnson.
Some speakers also asked why the district requires vaccines.
“To be clear, we do not have a vaccine mandate in place for students. It’s an optional mandate from the governor’s office,” said outgoing Superintendent Jason Peplinski.
Katie Weeks, a teacher at SVUSD, said she was happy with the safety regulations that have been put into place.
In support of the mask mandate, Weeks said, “I’m sad to hear that parents are upset, but it’s just to keep students and staff the safest we can be right now,”
Several trustees told the speakers that they were listening to their concerns.
In a phone interview, Hani Youssef said the district is following mask guidelines to keep both students and adults safe on campuses.
“These are not school district-generated mandates. It’s not optional,” Youssef said.
“(The Administrators) could be held personally liable for not following state and local guidelines,” Youssef said.
Youssef said he doesn’t want to see schools closed if they don’t follow the mandates.
As of Jan. 20, school officials and Hernandez were still at odds.
Hernandez was back outside of the school, advocating for his son.
He said, his son was now “segregated to a bench outside of class, where he is given the work but with no instruction.”
“SVUSD is continuing to assess the matter,” Youssef said. “With regard to the situation, the city is still exploring its legal options and requirements.”
