Five of the seven members of the Tulsa School Board want to be able to order students, teachers and staff members to wear a mask while at school.

The board, with two members absent, voted 5-0, to instruct their attorneys to challenge a state law that forbids public schools from mandating the wearing of facial masks in an effort to fight the Chinese coronavirus.

Board Vice President Suzanne Schreiber wants the district to sue the state if the law isn’t repealed. Board members Jerry Griffin and Judith Barba Perez were not at the August 11 board meeting when the vote was taken.

Classes are scheduled to start August 19.

In the 2021 session, the Oklahoma Legislature overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 658 which prohibits public schools – including charter schools, colleges and universities – from making masks or vaccinations mandatory unless the governor declares a public health emergency. Gov. Kevin Stitt has said he has no plans to do so.

Chinese coronavirus cases have risen lately but are not as many as in 2020 when the original outbreak took place.

The Tulsa School Board passed a resolution that calls for coronavirus protocols that require masks to be worn in district buildings and on school buses. That resolution would only take effect if the law is changed. The Biden Administration requires masks to be worn on school buses.

Officials at Oklahoma City Public Schools will not follow the state law and will require masks, with some exceptions.

Chris Brewster, superintendent of Santa Fe South Schools in Oklahoma City, announced last week that he would defy the law and that his charter school would force everyone in his school to wear masks, starting on August 12.  As of last week, Santa Fe South Schools had 21 teachers under quarantine. That district has nearly 3,500 students and started classes July 29.

“I am disheartened to hear that public school systems across the state are choosing to not comply with state law,” said Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, said. “Public schools knowingly violating state law borders on anarchy, and we must hold any government entity that knowingly and willfully violates state law accountable.

“House and Senate legislators overwhelmingly passed SB658 because opting into masks in school is what the people wanted. Public school boards willingly defying state statutes, and the will of parents, will not be tolerated.”

The bill’s author, Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, said SB 658 is about protecting parental rights and the right to privacy.

“It’s about the rights of parents over the power of government.  The bill in no way restricts a parent or citizen’s right to wear a mask or take a vaccine,” Standridge said.  “It simply protects the rights of parents and citizens to decide what is best for themselves and their children. I trust parents to determine what is best for their children, just as God has entrusted them.”

Standridge said while many politicians are pushing to take away the ability for parents to make those medical choices, he’s increasingly hearing from constituents frustrated those same politicians are not addressing the undocumented aliens pouring over the southern border and the tremendous risk they pose to public health in this country.

“Every month, hundreds of thousands of undocumented aliens are illegally crossing into our country, infected with no telling how many variants of how many diseases,” Standridge said.  “People are wondering why the same all-knowing government, supported by leftist politicians and media, are saying and doing nothing to protect against the spread of disease by these non-citizens, while pushing to vilify Americans who have serious concerns about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and masks.”

Most mask mandates allow people with medical conditions to not wear the masks.

Tulsa Superintendent Deborah Gist is pushing for the mask requirement. The state law doesn’t prevent students, teachers or staff members from voluntarily wearing masks.

“This is about protection, yes, but it is about caring for others,” said Gist. “It is about being a part of a community. It’s about being a caring, kind, loving classmate, teammate, community member. That’s what we will be emphasizing.”

State schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, who supports the wearing of masks, said districts must obey the law.

“We recognize that the safety and well-being of children and staff should be the top priority for all Oklahoma district leaders and school boards,” Hofmeister said in a statement. “At the same time, we expect all schools to comply with state laws currently in effect.”

Last year, Hofmeister was in favor of an effort to mandate masks in schools based upon the level of a county’s community spread. That plan failed in a vote by the Oklahoma State Board of Education. Last school year, schools could choose their own policies on mandatory masks.

According to guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control, anyone who has not been vaccinated over the age of 2 should wear a mask indoors. Generally, people don’t need to wear a mask outdoors but the CDC wants people to wear masks in crowded outdoor settings and in outdoor activities with close contact with others.

Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth is mandated by the Biden Administration on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation plus in airports and bus or train stations. The CDC claims that wearing a mask does not raise the carbon dioxide level in the air that is breathed.

However, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal by Marty Makary and H. Cody Meissner, some children struggle wearing a mask. Kids with myopia have trouble seeing because their eyeglasses fog up. Masks can cause acne and other skin problems. The discomfort of a mask can distract students from learning. Masks can increase airway resistance during exhaling and lead to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. And masks can promote pathogens if they are moist and used for too long.

These concerns prompted Ireland’s Department of Health to not require masks because they raise anxiety among students and may cause difficulty in breathing. Masks force some students to breathe through their mouths and extended use of masks can alter facial development. Children would breathe through their mouth can develop an elongated face.

The psychological damage to students could be a greater concern, according to the article, because facial expressions are vital to human connection, especially for young students. The need to learn to signal fear, confusion and happiness and masks are a hinderance. Covering a face can mute nonverbal forms of communication and lead to emotionless interactions, anxiety and depression. Seeing people speak helps phonetic development, especially for kids with hearing impairment.