UPDATE: Caroline County parents speak out against school mask mandate

DENTON, Md. – A group of Caroline County Public Schools parents spoke out against the district’s mask mandate Monday evening. “They shouldn’t be the ones to make the choice for us parents, and for our children, to have to wear a mask. That should be up to us as parents. Not the Board of Education,” said CCPS parent Phyllis Satterfield.

Previously, the district was making masks optional on campuses. That changed as of August 17th. All students, staff, and school personnel must wear a mask in school buildings, regardless of vaccination status. The district says they made the decision based on a few different reasons. For one, children age 11 and younger are not yet eligible for vaccines. Plus, the district says a sizable portion of their students age 12 and up are not vaccinated. Caroline County Public Schools also says CDC data, and concerns around the Delta variant, point to a necessity for masks.

Some parents say they’re frustrated at what they say is an important decision made on their behalf. Satterfield tells 47ABC she is taking matters into her own hands. “I’m considering home schooling my daughter. Until I get that straight, she has to go to school. But, it is her choice if she wants to wear a mask. If they try to suspend her or anything like that, then that’s totally up to them. But, I’m not going to make her wear a mask if she doesn’t want to,” said Satterfield.

But, the district says the reason for the mandate comes down to safety. In a statement, President of the Caroline County Board of Education James Newcomb, Jr. wrote, “Our primary goal is keeping schools open five full days a week for in-person learning for all students. Given the current guidelines from the state, we have a much better chance of meeting that goal if everyone is wearing a mask while indoors.”

Meanwhile, Interim Superintendent Derek Simmons called Monday’s protest “disturbing”. Plus, in response the school district has cancelled all Back to School and Meet the Teachers events taking place before September 1st. “The Board and I fully support individuals peacefully exercising their first Amendment rights. However, at the Aug. 23 protest at the Board of Education office, employees leaving at the end of the work day were harassed by protesters that blocked or ran beside their vehicles, spoke to them in a threatening and profane manner, and photographed their vehicles and license plates,” wrote Supt. Simmons in a statement. “This was a deeply disturbing experience that left employees understandably shaken. Given those circumstances, we cannot in good conscience conduct large-scale events that will expose children, families, and teachers to threatening and disturbing behavior.”

Newcomb, Jr. adds he and other board members are “saddened” at the actions of the group within the school community. “We know these events occur in other places with other people; we did not expect anything other than civil and peaceful discourse in Caroline County,” wrote Newcomb, Jr. in the same statement.

Newcomb, Jr. adds that the district will continue to track community transmission and vaccination rates. He says as those numbers improve, the district will revisit mitigation strategies, including any mask requirements. For more information on the district’s reopening plan for the 2021-2022 school year, click here.