Mask Protests At Yorba Linda School District As Case Counts Grow

Ashley Ludwig
·2 min read

YORBA LINDA, CA — Parents of students in the Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District rallied outside Travis Ranch School Tuesday, demanding the district drop its student mask mandates.

Organizers, specifically the Los Angeles Leftists for Choice and Unity, focused on Travis Ranch School Principal Taylor Holloway and district Superintendent James Elasser, hoping for an instant easing of the mandate. Meanwhile, the district has among the higher case counts of positive coronavirus in the whole of Orange County, according to statistics released one week ago.

"We have received several questions regarding face masks," Elasser wrote in a letter to families posted on the district's website. He reminded all that mask mandates for indoors, and masks are optional when students and staff members are outside. All schools in the district have masks available for students whose masks are unsuitable per CDC guidelines, or if the students lose or forget to bring them, he wrote.

According to the Orange County Health Care Agency's latest statistics for the district, the testing positivity among students and staff was 31.77 percent one week ago.

A spokesperson for the rally was not available for comment on this report, though multiple attempts were made.

All Orange County school districts will continue in-person learning across the county, regardless of parent concerns. The district shared updated guidance and new quarantine regulations with all Placentia-Yorba Linda parents earlier in the month. Moreover, free coronavirus test kits will be made available to all students from the district on Wednesday, Jan. 19, from 8 a.m. to noon.

"It is important to note that there is no statewide testing mandate for students and it is optional to pick up a test," he said. "The results of these tests will not be shared with the district."

They asked that all families report positive coronavirus cases to the schools' attendance lines.

This article originally appeared on the Orange County Patch