Caddo School District ends mask mandate
Beginning Dec. 4, students will have the option to wear face masks or coverings
SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — The Caddo Parish School Board decided Tuesday, Nov. 16 to end the School District’s mask mandate effective at the end of the day Dec. 3.
The face coverings will become optional at that point, with a few stipulations.
HOW THEY VOTED
Motion: Move to authorize staff to implement a mask-optional protocol and aligned quarantine guidelines effective end of day December 3, 2021, contingent upon a Caddo Parish COVID-19 positivity rate of less than 5%, with universal masking reinstated upon 2 consecutive weeks.
| YES | NO |
|---|---|
| 👍 John L. Albritton | 👎 Barry F. Rachal |
| 👍 Dottie Bell | 👎 Don W. Little |
| 👍 Darrin L. Dixon | 👎 Christine Tharpe |
| 👍 Bonita Douzart | 👎 Dr. Terence Wilson |
| 👍 Jasmine Green | |
| 👍 Tony Nations | |
| 👍 Steve Riall | |
| 👍 Mary Trammel | |
The caveat is that the parish must keep its COVID-19 positivity rate below 5%. If the case rate rises above 5% for two consecutive weeks, Caddo School District will reinstate its mask mandate.
Before the vote, the board heard from parents and students most against the mask mandate.
“Last time I checked, y’all’s names were not on our kid’s birth certificates,” said parent Carla Collins. “If that’s the case, I have school tuition you can pay for, doctor’s appointments y’all’s can pay for, but until then, stay in your place and focus on our child’s education and not the medical needs because that’s what the parents are supposed to do.”
Landon Williams, a junior at North Caddo, said he was sent home Monday for refusing to wear his mask.
“Your job as a school board is to facilitate my learning, not cripple it and take my God given rights away.” said Williams.
He wasn’t the only student who told the board they have stopped wearing their masks at school.
“I didn’t wear my mask today at school and I was written up and sent home,” said Abby Pugh, a student at Youree Drive Middle School. “They can suspend me and write me up as much as they want, I do not care. I am not there to cater to anyone’s fears.”
Two weeks ago, dozens of parents came to the School Board meeting to express their opinions on the mandate.
Caddo is one of the only districts in the ArkLaTex that decided to keep the mask policy in place after Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards lifted his statewide mask mandate.
After the School Board’s vote Tuesday, the School District released the following statement:
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