For those who want to circumvent the governor’s mask rules, Louisiana’s attorney General has provided sample letters via his Facebook page.
In the United States, religious leaders, doctors, and public officials are working together to circumvent COVID-19.
These workarounds may be supported by parents who claim they are protecting their children’s health, rights and property. However, some others feel that such strategies are unreliable and reckless and could hamper efforts to combat the highly contagious delta virus.
Although the requirements for masks and vaccines vary from one state to another, exemptions are often granted for certain medical conditions or religious objections.
Oregon’s Superintendent Marc Thielman from the Alsea School district told parents that they could bypass the governor’s school-mask requirement and apply for accommodation for their children in accordance with federal disability law.
Thielman stated that he came up with the idea after parents reacted strongly to the governor’s mandate.
Thielman said that “the majority of my parents have doubts and are not believing what they are being told” about COVID-19. Classes begin Monday in Thielman’s district at the state’s coast mountains. “I have a majority of my parents asking me, ‘Are they any options?’
Democratic Gov. Kate Brown stated that she was shocked by Thielman’s efforts to undermine her policies and “instruct students to lie about having a disability.”
Brown has ordered the use of masks in schools, and all staff to be vaccinated against an epidemic of infections plaguing Oregon. The state is breaking its COVID-19 hospitalization record day after day and the number of cases among children has increased significantly.
Thielman plans to run for governor in the year after Brown is out of office due to term limits. He said that while he isn’t anti-mask, he is sensitive to parents concerns about face coverings causing anxiety and headaches among children.
He said that he thinks these problems are valid in some cases and should be exempted under Section 504 from the Rehabilitation Act 1973, because they interfere with learning.
Laurie VanderPloeg is an associate executive director of the Council for Exceptional Children. She cautions that children cannot go without a mask just because they ask.
She said that the law would require school districts to undergo a formal process to determine if a child has a specific mental or physical disability.
Kansas’ Spring Hill school board has granted parents permission to apply for a mental or medical exemption from the county’s requirement that elementary school students cover up. They don’t need to be signed off by a physician.
Ali Seeling, a board member, stated that the goal is to allow parents to make their own health decisions about their children’s health.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is a Republican who frequently spars with the Democratic Governor. John Bel Edwards posted samples of letters that would allow parents and students to request a philosophical or religious exemption from Edwards’ mask rule at schools – or from any vaccine requirement, if one has been enacted.
These letters were shared by GOP legislators and many others.
“Louisiana is not governed under a dictatorship.” Landry posted on Facebook that the question is “Who gets to decide the healthcare decisions for you and/or your child?”
Edwards accused the attorney General of creating confusion, and defended his policy regarding face coverings.
The governor stated that “By taking these measures and not ignoring those who are unwilling to admit the crisis, we can keep our children in school this year and keep their safety,”
California’s state medical board is looking into a doctor accused of giving out hundreds of exemptions to children for wearing masks. This is in an effort to avoid the statewide school-mask requirement.
Roseville-based Dr. Michael Huang declined to answer questions from The Associated Press, but said that he does an examination of each child and gives exemptions accordingly. California Medical Association released a statement denouncing “rogue doctors” who sell “bogus exemptions.
Pastor Greg Fairrington, Rocklin’s Destiny Christian Church, has granted at least 3,000 religious exemptions for people who have objections to the vaccination. This exemption is being issued in a nearby suburb. The vaccine is now mandatory in increasing numbers of California locations.
In a statement, he stated that his church had received thousands of calls from first responders, teachers, doctors and nurses, all expressing concern about their ability to get vaccinated. His office refused to share the exemption letter.
He said, “We aren’t anti-vaccine.” “But, at the same time we believe in freedom of conscience as freedom of religion. Many people of faith find the vaccine morally dangerous.
Experts in health such as Dr. Peter Chinhong, an infectious disease specialist at University of California San Francisco, warn that such tactics will cause confusion over vaccinations and masks.
He said that the virus was “looking for fractures within the system” and that there are plenty of them.
Jenny Jonak, a resident of Oregon, has an 11-year old daughter with autism and other health issues that make her more vulnerable to COVID-19. She said that wearing masks is a small inconvenience to protect vulnerable students.
She said, “If a child has a legitimate reason to do so, and if they have any sort of breathing or respiratory problem, that should be respected.” “But if they don’t, then I don’t know what we’re teaching our kids if we’re teaching them that wearing a mask is an acceptable way to teach them.
