Gwinnett School Mask Mandate Sparks Protest, Online Petition

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — Some parents in Gwinnett County are pushing back on the school district’s decision to mandate masks for the coming school year.

On Friday, demonstrators are planning what they bill as a “peaceful protest” against masks at Gwinnett County Public Schools headquarters in Suwanee. The protest will begin at 5 p.m. to coincide with a special called school board meeting to finalize Calvin Watts’ appointment as new superintendent.

“Let our children breathe or face mass student withdrawal!” says one graphic on social media publicizing the event.

“I feel like it should be a choice,” Sheri Mitchell, founder of a group supporting in-person learning, said to North Gwinnett Voice. “I have a problem with them making it mandatory. Why have the vaccines if you’re going to make it mandatory?”

In fact, while the COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at either stopping the virus or mitigating its symptoms, they have been subject to “breakthrough” infections caused by the more dangerous delta variant. Also, while it is true that children are far less likely than adults to become ill from COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that children can still carry the virus asymptomatically to those who are vulnerable.

Georgia ranks among the least vaccinated states, with only about 38 percent of its residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19. No vaccine is currently authorized for those younger than 12. As of Wednesday, Gwinnett has reported more COVID-19 infections than any other Georgia county, and it’s second only to Fulton County for COVID-19 deaths, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

In addition, an online petition demanding that masks be made optional for Gwinnett students has regained momentum, with new signatures added since the school district’s decision. As of Wednesday afternoon, nearly 4,000 people had signed the petition.

In response to the possibility that parents without masks may try to enter school property during open house, Gwinnett County schools spokesperson Sloan Roach emailed this statement to Patch:

"We will offer families a mask when they come if they do not have one or are not wearing one. Our hope is that our families will work with our schools to ensure we are providing as safe an open house atmosphere as possible. Our teachers and students are excited about being back in-person and we all need to work together to ensure that we are able to keep our schools open and students attending in-person."

Read the story on the North Gwinnett Voice website.

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