SB 658, which prohibits mask mandates for unvaccinated students in Oklahoma schools, was crafted by the GOP anti-hygiene caucus and signed into law by Kevin Stitt in June ‘21.
Although other school boards have subsequently followed suit, small town Hulbert was the first in Oklahoma to defy the law and mandate masks. Stitt & Co. were none too pleased at the time:
www.oklahoman.com/...
"Gov. Kevin Stitt and Attorney General John O'Connor reprimanded a small eastern Oklahoma school district for its strict masking policy on Thursday — a day after the federal government admonished the state for discouraging mask mandates in schools.
Stitt and O'Connor said Hulbert Public Schools violated state law Wednesday night when its school board voted in favor of a masking requirement for all students and staff."
A few weeks later, the reporting of results is promising:
www.tahlequahdailypress.com/…
"The past few weeks have felt a little more normal for Hulbert students, since the school administration established expectations and routines that have helped them keep their doors open.
Positive COVID tests are down, and the few positive tests recorded have not resulted in student-to-student spread since Hulbert’s mask mandate was implemented on Aug. 18. That happened before a judge ordered a stay on a state law banning mask mandates."
What about Oklahoma schools without mask mandates? They are rapidly changing their tune because their cases were rising, and a district court has issued an injunction against SB 658.
As school boards draw the attention of unhinged Freedumb Fighters, those who are doing the right thing under threat of sanction and violence deserve validation, appreciation and protection. And people like Steven Lynch deserve to be publicly pilloried by all of society until such time as they repent their selfish, short-sighted nonsense.