Marion family takes stand against mask mandate as three children
suspended
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[August 11, 2021]
By Greg Bishop
(The Center Square) – Parents across
Illinois are sending their kids to school. Some kids are being suspended
for not wearing masks.
The school year has started in some districts and schools are requiring
masks, per Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s recent order. He said Tuesday the mask
mandate is temporary, but necessary with rising COVID-19 case rates.
“This is a vital part of keeping people safe and healthy across the
state,” Pritzker said.
For Marlena and Ben McCoy in Marion, they had their children politely
refuse to wear masks Monday, saying it’s not healthy for them to breathe
their own air for eight hours a day.
They said at first, administrators at Crab Orchard in Williamson County
said to just take the kids home, but the McCoys insisted that if they’re
not being disciplined, their children must be in class. The
administrators eventually suspended the three children.
An administrator from the district didn’t return messages seeking
comment.
Marlena said they couldn't stand by anymore without fighting back.
“It’s time to stand up and it’s time to fight against what is not the
government’s to take,” Marlena said. “The Bible teaches us to give to
Caesar what is Caesar's, and they are clearly asking something that is
not Caesar's and we’re not going to be willing to give it anymore.”
It was tough to “walk into the fire,” but Marlena said her children
understood.
“They’re excited to be part of whatever this movement is going to be,”
she said. “My husband made kind of a silly comment, he said ‘your blood
bleeds a little bit more red than most Americans right now,’ because
they’re fighting what most won’t.”
Pritzker said Tuesday that schools must enforce masks, equating it to
enforcing dress codes.
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Marlena and Ben McCoy share the story
of their three children being suspended after declining to
wear masks on the first day of school Monday. Gov. J.B.
Pritzker stands by his mask mandate Tuesday. Marlena
McCoy, BlueRoomStream
“I expect people will do the right thing, nonetheless, and not put their
school district in the situation of having to tell somebody, you know,
‘follow the rules,’” Pritzker said.
At the same district, Amanda Phillips’ son Carson, who turns 13 in just
a matter of days, went to school Monday with a mask, but decided to not
wear a mask Tuesday and was given a day suspension.
“He’s putting everything on the line, his sports, his academics,”
Phillips said, noting her son is a leader on the middle-school baseball
team and a good student. “Suspensions are supposed to be for bad things
like fights, not for good students.”
Phillips said her son may go back to school Wednesday with a mask in
order to be eligible for a Thursday baseball game, but she also has her
eye on a national day of action called “Walkout Wednesday.” She said
that could have students across the country walking out of schools at
noon to protest COVID-19 mitigation protocols.
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