ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Dozens of parents and students on Thursday crowded the Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District school board meeting in Roseville to speak out against the statewide mask mandate, which remains in effect for students and adults in school settings.
"We just want the choice for our kids. We feel we know what's best for them, and we want to be able to choose if they wear masks or not," said parent Kimberly Steenblik.
While the board expanded public comment time from 20 to 40 minutes in order to accommodate all the extra voices, one board member told ABC10 the district has no plans of defying the state.
On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom laid out his new COVID response plan without a timeline for ending the school mask mandate.
Earlier this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said he would reassess the the data and conditions on Feb. 28 and consider future changes to statewide school masking at that time.
It comes as anti-mask protests have broken out across the state. The Roseville Joint Union High School District voted last week to defy the state mandate and pass a "mask-optional" policy for its students.
“You can do something. There are six districts that are doing something about it. And you’re not!" one parent said to the board to huge applause from the crowd.
The board members did not react. There were no mask-related items on the regular board meeting agenda.
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