6 Islip Middle Schoolers Refuse To Wear Masks

ISLIP, NY—On Thursday morning, six Islip Middle School students came to school without masks. When staff asked them to put masks on, as required by current New York State health rules, the students refused. They were escorted to a room with a security guard when, according to the Suffolk County Police Department, a parent of one of the students called police, who arrived at 9:50 a.m.

Islip School District's guidelines state that any student who does not follow the mask mandate will be taken to a location away from other students and if they do not then put a mask on, a parent or guardian must pick them up from school.

Islip Superintendent Dennis O'Hara issued a statement about the incident: "The safety and well-being of our students and staff continues to be a top priority," he said.

In a Facebook group called "Moms for Liberty—Suffolk County," parents against school masks compared the district's actions to "segregation."

A flyer circulating on social media the week before outlined a plan for Islip parents to demonstrate against the mask mandate.

"The Board of Ed-approved plan intends to put unmasked kids in an isolation room. Our plan is simply to instruct our willing children to refuse to put on a mask to enter the building, starting the first day of school."

The flyer also invited "like-minded families" to meet at Brookwood Hall Park in East Islip Wednesday night to "encourage each other to resist this infringement on parental rights."

The district did not release any information about the six students and if they returned to school.