SOUTHERN OCEAN COUNTY – A legal debate has been raging over the wearing of masks in school. On one side are parents saying “The government is overstepping its authority and infringing on the rights of parents to make their own decision.” On the other side are parents who say “What about the rights of my children to be safe in school?”
“I have four children in the Barnegat School District,” shared Jamie Kasprovitz. “They have the right to a safe education, without the risk of an unmitigated virus running rampant through the schools.”
Kasprovitz said she took advantage of the district’s virtual learning option last year. She strongly approves of Governor Phil Murphy’s mask mandate. As far as she’s concerned, the science dictates their need.
“People tell me they don’t care if I want my kids to wear a mask,” Kasprovitz said. “However, that’s not enough. There are infographics that show the percentages of what happens if only one user wears a mask. They only really work efficiently if everyone wears a mask.”
With remote learning off the table this year, Kasprovitz investigated the prospect of homeschooling. She is not a teacher and therefore looked for an option that would ensure her children received a formal education.
“Homeschooling that somewhat resembles what we had with the virtual option would cost our family $2,000 per child,” shared Kasprovitz. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
Kelly Lepine, another Barnegat mom, takes the opposite position. Last June, her son Mark Steven Ford spoke at a Board of Education meeting, expressing his difficulties with wearing a mask.
At the time, Lepine had already started a GoFundMe to retain a constitutional lawyer to fight the Governor’s executive orders in a class action lawsuit. Attorney Bruce Afron plans to amend the complaint he filed to include an injunction against the executive order requiring the mask mandate.
“Parents have the right to have their own kids wear a mask, but they don’t have the right to demand that other children give up their rights of speech or association,” Afron said. “We don’t limit those rights because some parents may be fearful.”
Afron dismissed the argument that constitutional rights are subject to government authority when it comes to protecting people’s health, safety, and welfare.
“The mere fact that we want to make some people feel more at ease doesn’t give the state the right to ask every school district to follow these mandates,” stated Afron.
Waretown mother Amanda Lynn’s daughter attended a gifted and talented program this summer within the school district. She says her five-year-old was the only one wearing a mask.
“There are fragile kids and kids with medical conditions who we need to protect in school,” Jean shared. “They have a right to a free and appropriate public education as well.”
Educators also have different views on the mask mandates. Some didn’t agree with the mask mandate at any stage. When districts lifted them last year, some felt confident because they were vaccinated. They now face some uncertainty with recent mutations of the virus.
“Wearing a mask is a small thing we can do to protect ourselves, but moreso it can possibly protect OTHER PEOPLE, said Angela Stella-Randall, who teaches in the Little Egg Harbor school district. “Why would I not do this small thing to protect my students, my co-workers, and myself?”
The debate over mask mandates led to a recent consortium of area school officials put in a precarious position. Some board of education members themselves believe masks serve no purpose. Personal opinions aside, outward defiance of the mandate comes with repercussions.
“All districts have to file a reopening plan as outlined by the Department of Education,” explained Martin Buckley, Barnegat and Stafford’s school board attorney. “With the executive order, the masking component is one of the requirements that districts must have in their reopening plans.”
According to Buckley, reopening plans that do not include the masking language would undoubtedly be kicked back from the Department of Education. Schools can’t reopen without an approved reopening plan.
The Stafford Township School District went so far as to pass a resolution requesting that Murphy rescind his mask mandate and let their district make its own decisions. Other districts have done the same in letter form.
Barnegat Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Latwis said that he developed a matrix last year to make COVID-19 closing decisions. The district looked at case numbers within the town, the district, and individual schools. The plan would be to keep schools safe using similar metrics.
“If the Governor gives us back the decision, we want masks optional,” said Shawn Denning, Ocean Township (Waretown) Board of Education President. “If we poll the parents and the general consensus is they want masks optional, we would listen to the community.”
The New Jersey School Boards Association wrote last year on contagion transmission liability. While the article does not specifically address masks, school districts may be held liable for students or employees infected at schools.
“There are now 13 kids with COVID currently being treated in our hospitals, two of whom are in intensive care,” said Murphy when he announced the mask mandate. “There are those on one side in this who will preface these numbers with the word ‘only.’ They are essentially perfectly accepting of these numbers. Remember, we have seven losses of life since the beginning of this awful pandemic of kids under the age of 18. We can never say ‘only’ to that.”
