Dozens of students and families from Franklin schools protested a new mask mandate Tuesday, a day after the face covering requirement went into effect.
Students and families gathered outside the Johnson County Courthouse, then made their way to the district’s administration building on U.S. 31, sporting signs with several messages against mask mandates. Messages included: “Fear is the real virus,” “Stop segregating our students” and “Unmask our kids #don’t comply.”
Franklin schools’ mask mandate follows those already in place at Greenwood, Clark-Pleasant and Center Grove schools, a move recommended by the Johnson County Health Department earlier this month. The main goal of the mandate is to keep students in school, Superintendent David Clendening said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Since the start of the school year, hundreds of students at Franklin schools have had to quarantine due to being in close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19. Earlier this month, the state removed quarantine requirements for schools where a mask mandate is in place. The quarantine requirement still applies to those who test positive for COVID-19 or are experiencing symptoms.
“There have been over 700 otherwise healthy students who have been quarantined since the start of school. On Monday, as a result of requiring masks in the buildings, (Franklin schools) welcomed back 74 students to in-person learning. Again, the conversation continues to be about keeping students in school. Wearing masks in school is the only avenue provided by the state and local governing officials for avoiding unnecessary quarantines,” Clendening said.
Under the mask mandate, students are given three options, he said in the statement.
“The decision for students continues to come down to the parents’ choice,” he said. “Students can attend school wearing a mask, students can attend school with an approved mask exemption form and no mask or students can attend school virtually while masks are required in the buildings.”
Several of the students protesting were juniors at Franklin Community High School. Students were sent to the main office where they had to put their phones in a basket, unable to use them until they left school, said Cora Bechert, a junior at the high school.
“They denied our right to a free education with an in-school suspension and took away our phones and the right to speak to others. They basically told us we were in trouble for protecting our rights,” Bechert said.
Students were required to surrender their phones during the school day because they were completing school work, Clendening said.
Jacquie Hayes, the aunt of a student at the high school, questioned different mask requirements in different settings, such as why students have to wear them during the school day but not during extracurricular activities.
“I believe in free choice. Don’t mask our innocent children. … 90,000 people can go to a college football game unmasked, but our kids have to wear a mask,” Hayes said.
Franklin’s mask mandate does not carry over to afterschool programs, as students in those activities have to quarantine in close contact situations regardless of whether there is a mask requirement due to state guidelines, said Robin Betts, spokesperson for the district.
