Students and parents protest Shen. Co. Schools mask mandate

SHENANDOAH COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) - Dozens of parents and students stood outside of Central High School on Monday, protesting the school division’s recent mask requirement change inside school buildings.

An email was sent out last Friday to parents about the change after kicking off the school year with parents deciding whether their students should wear a mask in school or not.

The change comes after Gov. Ralph Northam announced schools must follow CDC guidance or they would be in violation of the law. WHSV was told by school administration Monday morning that while many students did show up to school with masks on, some did not.

Noah Teets is a student at Central High School and one of the organizers of the protest. He says he thought families were going into the school year with an option.

“When we came back to school the first two days they did not require a mask and we got like other intel, it wasn’t official but we were told that they knew we were going to have to wear masks today,” Teets said. “They didn’t give us a virtual option and some of us feel that it should be freedom of choice.”

District 3 Supervisor, Brad Pollack, attended the protest and says he was there to support the family and students who were protesting their concerns.

He says he believes the school board could push back on the mask mandate.

“The school board is charged under the constitution of Virginia with supervising the schools, not the governor,” Pollack said. “Everybody thinks oh the governor over everybody, no the governor is not over the school board. So the school board gets to decide what’s best for these children.”

Pollack says he hopes the school board makes a decision again at the next school board meeting to make masks optional.

WHSV reached out to the school division via email for a statement.

WHSV was told other high schools in Shenandoah County also held protests against the mask mandate. Teets says students will continue to protest this week against the change.

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