Good evening, Highline School Board Members. I’m Patricia, a member of this community.
We have learned that after OSPI dropped the unlawful mask requirement, beginning April 12th, 2022, making masks optional, an official in the Highline School District chose to require masks in one school in the last two weeks of the academic year.
The directive from that school reads as follows: “Due to the number of positive cases identified in Des Moines recently and the uptick in cases in the surrounding community area, Highline will require masking for staff, students, and visitors while indoors at Des Moines Elementary School Public Health-Seattle & King County has recommended that we require masking for Des Moines Elementary until the end of the day on June 16th, 2022. All students, staff, and visitors at Des Moines Elementary will be required to wear masks appropriately effective June 8th, 2022.”
First of all, Public Health — Seattle & King County — does not make laws and cannot require people, large or small, to use medical devices.
Second, “community cases” are counted in local hospitals. Because hospitals reportedly test everyone for covid who comes through their doors, whether for asthma, injuries, heart attack, cancer treatments, etc., this testing routinely turns up positive cases, even though those people have no evidence of covid.
Third, as I reported on June 22nd, the Lancet, an esteemed medical journal, found “no significant relationship between mask mandates and case rates.” We should not burden students with invalid and illogical practices.
Fourth, and most importantly, it is against the children’s and staff’s God-given constitutional rights to be compelled to comply with medical procedures unless individually ordered by a court for cause, which has not happened.
Perhaps the person who ordered this requirement for the school had approval from central administration or perhaps acted in a rogue manner. We don’t know. We only know this individual violated the rights of the children of this school and the adults involved.
Although the courts move slowly, the rights of the people to bodily autonomy are being upheld regarding unlawful mandates. A ruling against a Chicago hospital was settled a few days ago in favor of the employees for 10.3 million dollars.
It is for the financial and legal health of the Highline School District and its employees to understand and comply with the laws of the land.
