Two dozen Richland students walk out of classes over WA COVID mask rules

About two dozen Richland students walked out of classes Monday with the support of a Richland School Board member to protest having to wear masks.

The students, who attend different schools, were allowed to protest. Some did it outside while others were provided a room to go to.

Students have the right to protest, said Ty Beaver, Richland district’s communication’s director. But the public heath and safety facet to this protest has meant they need to make sure all students and staff feel safe while they’re in school, he said.

Kennewick and Pasco school districts didn’t report having similar walkouts on Monday.

All three districts reported more than 1,300 students and staff were out of school last week because of COVID.

Richland School Board member Audra Byrd, a vocal opponent to the requirement of students wearing masks, posted the, “‘We the People’ End the Masks” protest on her Facebook page.

“Tomorrow is the statewide peaceful mask protest if any of your students want to participate,” according to a image of the Sunday post shared with the Tri-City Herald. “This is a wonderful way to teach our children to advocate for freedom of choice/agency while still being kind and respectful.”

Byrd couldn’t be reached Monday about the post. It had been removed by Monday morning, but not before it attracted the attention of some of Byrd’s critics, who said her support for breaking the rules had gone too far.

“I do not dispute her opinion on students’ rights to peacefully protest, but I do take issue that this will not harm, impact or disrupt any other students or normal school operations. Our schools are promised to be a safe space for ALL students,” one parent said. “Neither me nor my child feel represented or safe with Ms. Byrd encouraging this unlawful behavior by students and parents.”

Shelly Walser Burt, another opponent of students wearing masks in school, shared pictures of the protest at Hanford where a handful of students gathered outside without masks.

She was upset that the students needed to be outside during the protest.

Masks in Schools

Other students and parents upset with masking have turned out for school board meetings recently to complain about the state requirement.

The increase in complaints follows the arrival of some new school board members who rode a wave of sentiment of some voters opposed to COVID rules.

None of the school districts have wanted to risk losing their funding from Washington state if they don’t enforce mask requirements. State and federal money makes up the majority of school operating budgets.

Parents have tried using a “permission” form to exempt their kids from wearing masks, but districts have said even with the form students still need to have some sort of face covering.

If a student doesn’t have a mask, they are given one. And if the student continues to refuse, the staff will work with parents to resolve the issue.

“Our goal is to provide in-person education opportunities for our students and we are grateful for the cooperation of our students, families and staff focused on keeping schools open by following the Department of Health’s K-12 COVID-19 Health and Safety Requirements,” said Robyn Chastain, the district’s executive director of communications and public relations.

High COVID cases

Recent protests come at the same time that the omicron COVID variant is surging in Tri-City schools. The strain has kept hundreds of teachers and thousands of students out of class since students returned to school after the winter break.

The number of newly sick students dropped last week for the first time since the surge started. School districts are cautious in reading into the shift, since it’s a single week’s data.

The number of students with COVID continues to remain high, and in some cases higher than any other time during the pandemic.

Pasco saw the largest drop, with only 134 students and 16 staff out sick last week. That compared to 480 students and 85 employees the week before.

The district held its second staff-only testing event last weekend. The event was aimed at testing staff members who had been exposed, were experiencing COVID symptoms or needed a test to return to work.

Richland schools reported 469 students out of class last week compared to 541 the week before. According to the district’s website, officials only track cases where the student was on campus while infectious.

Kennewick continued to have the most students impacted by COVID.

They reported 676 students and 58 staff members tested positive last week. That’s down from 872 students and 82 employees the previous week.