KERNELS We are irresponsible adults to place the health of humanity on the shoulders of children. #stopthemasknessKERNELS ‘To Whom it May Concern, We are writing to express our opposition to requiring masks/cloth face coverings for all Mitchell Public School students and staff. ‘These procedures are socially, emotionally, psychologically and physically damaging to our children; moreover, there is no solid science to support their implementation. First, current data shows that children are not an at-risk group for COVID-19 (source: upsz/tinyurl convthechildisnotioblame) and the World Health Organization states that asymptomatic transmission is extremely rare (source: hitpsi/tinyurl com/covidasymptomatic). Additionally, recent data shows that fatality rates from COVID-19 are akin to a bad seasonal flu (source: https:/tinyurl com/covidseverity). The latest data ‘demonstrates that the COVID-19 case fatality rate is at 0.26%, which is akin to a bad seasonal flu — and significantly below the original estimates of a 4-10% fatality rate (source: httpsu/itinyurl,com/y7cbinvn) Original predictions were grossly inaccurate. Throughout this crisis, many daycares have remained open, and some countries never shut down schools, affirming that schools are not negatively impacting health outcomes. Second, requiring masks or cloth face coverings impedes schools in educating while causing psychological and physical harm ¢o students. Masks create a physical distraction to students and act as a barrier for teachers to cffectively communicate, Masks will psychologically impact students, particularly younger children and those with special needs. These measures reinforce an unhealthy concept of isolation, as well asa fear of others, the world and ‘germs. Without the ability to physically interact or sec the faces of adults and their peers, the special needs programs in our schools, including speech and occupational therapy, will be unable to function. Do we really think that students will wear their masks appropriately, launder them and not touch them constantly? Masks ereate a moist ‘environment for the breeding of bacteria and viruses that are expelled from exhaling, they do not filter out viruses effectively, and can actually lead to reduction in 02 levels and increase in CO2 levels leading to health issues, Furthermore, the New England Journal of Medicine's May 21, 2020, Perspective states, “We know that wearing a ‘mask outside health care facilities offers litle, iFany, protection from infection’ (source:htns:/tinyurl.con/maskperspective) ‘Third, re-outfiting schools so they can adhere to CDC guidelines could cause financial burdens to both schools and families ata time when both are already hurting from the economic shutdown. If masks are mandated, will some parents have their children opt out for e-learning or homeschool? This could affect the district financially and cause undue burden on a family where parents have to go to wark and can’t stay home to educate their child(ren), Will all families have access to masks? Will they launder them correctly? What will be done if'a child does not wear one to school? Is the school liable fa student or staff have physical or psychological issues related to the mandatory ‘masking? Ifa child or staff member forgets their mask or doesn't have one for whatever reason, will the school provide one? If not, then, will the parent(s) be called to bring another one or will they be sent home? Clearly, current data does NOT merit the dramatic response being discussed for Mitchell students, And the South Dakota Department of Health and the Office of the Governor have NOT confirmed and have been unable to produce M KERNELS 2 #stopthemaskness 58ANY findings from the CDC to support the theory that: a) healthy people wearing cloth face coverings prevent the spread of illness; b) forced separation slows transmission; and ¢) asymptomatic transmission is occurring. In other ‘words, there is NO evidence that the CDC and the Department of Public Health guidelines are based upon science or medical evidence. Thus, the CDC and the Department of Public Health guidelines/considerations — on which we ‘assume the Mitchell Board of Education and back-to-school task force are basing their guidance — are founded on inconclusive assumptions with NO reputable, peer-reviewed studies to support them. Itis our sincere hope that Mitchell children will return to school for face-to-face instruction with no mask mandates ‘The school can increase cleaning/disinfecting/ ventilating protocols and encourage hand-washing to accommodate the small number of parents who have concerns about returning, There is simply no justification for mandating an ‘unhealthy new abnormal forall, And those who are still uncomfortable with their children’s return to the classroom ‘could choose to return to the elearning format utilized last year, as has been suggested previously by the task force ‘or homeschool We encourage you to please take a few minutes to watch this important message from Peggy Hall, an educator of more than 30 years. Although Ms. Hall is based in California, she offers advice and facts that apply to all states: hutps:/itinvurl com/yTaozepx ‘Thank you in advance for your consideration and for protecting our children by saying no to mandatory masking which can and will hurt children and impede leaming, We want health freedom of choice, Sincerely, Mitchell Kemel Parents Against Mandatory Masks KERNELS 3 #stopthemaskness 58American Academy of Pediatrics guidance on school reopening addresses physical and mental health, instructional time by Malas Jere News Corte tr Ealtor’s note: Updated guidance was released on June 26, wv appublications orgnews/2020/06/26/schoolreopening02620. New AAP guidance on reopening schools once COVID-19 wanes includes considerations for instructional time, physical and mental health, special populations, and more. “Planning Considerations: Return to In-person Education in Schools” recommends working with local and state public health officials and taking Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CBC) guidance into account to ‘determine when itis safe to reopen, The decision should factor in issues such as the local spread of COVID-19, local testing capacity and schools ability to limit the spread of the virus, {As schools reopen, they should follow CDC recommendations on cleaning and disinfecting and consider phased reopening, staggered scheduling and social distancing protocols, Plans also should be in place for excluding and isolating sick children and staff, Even with these measures in place, some students with high-risk medical conditions may need to continue distance learning. ‘Teachers planning lessons should take into account lost instructional time, but not expect to fully make up for it and should recognize some students will have struggled with virtual learning more than others, The curriculum should be ‘a balance of core subjects, physical education, and other learning experiences. I'the academic expectations are unrealistic, school will likely become a source of further stress for students (and educators) at a time when they need additional support, the guidance says ‘The impact of school closures may be greater for students with disabilities who lost out on both instruction time and related therapy services and may have difficulty transitioning back to school, The AAP recommends reviewing the needs of each child with an Individual Education Program, New referrals should take priority over re-evaluations, ‘and students should start services even if they must be done virtually Schools also should continue to prioritize compliance with vaccinations and use onsite school health services to ‘complement the pediatric medical home and help students stay healthy. Prepartieipation evaluations for athletes should be conducted in alignment with guidance from the AAP as well as local authorities In times of isolation from family and friends, economic struggles and anxiety about returning to School, students! mental health also must be taken into consideration. School mental health professionals can provide critical support, and teachers and staff should be trained in psychological first aid, Students exhibiting suicidal ideation and other severe issues should be referred for additional services. ‘Schools should be attuned to the broader social and family stressors that may affect a student's ability to attend school of be ready to learn,” the AAP guidance says, ‘Another erucial way to support students is by providing nutritious meals, especialy in the wake of families experiencing unemployment and economic hardships. Millions of US. children rely on these meals, and schools should look for ways to provide them regardless of whether their facilities have reopened, Even if in-person instruction resumes, it may be temporary and administrators should plan accordingly “Until the broad availability of a vaccine and/or treatment for COVID-19 exists, there isa risk for future waves of disease impacting communities across the country,” the AAP said. “It is important that schools plan for the possibility of additional periods of school closures and prepare strategically for distance learning or other ‘educational options.” M KERNELS 4 #stopthemaskness 6Parent Concerns “My son uses 3 modes for communication. ASL, lip reading and limited hearing. Without 2 of those ‘modes he won't get all the information and most definitely will cause anxiety and not have access to education,” = Shawna Claussen “Lhave a son with ADHD, trying to have him keep his mask on will NOT work - he has a problem sitting still or even wearing a hat without fidgeting with it, imagine that with a mask? The kids will be playing with their masks and that would be worse than not Wearing any as they would be touching their mouths all the time, Also, with activities and everything, some people may not have a chance to wash masks every night (or may not be able to afford to wash or buy more than one mask!). As a person with asthma myself - it is VERY difficult for me to wear a mask due to the restricted airflow, so I could not imagine having to tell our children to wear a mask and reduce their airflow (even without breathing issues). There are many ‘masks with elastic, in my experience, you will have the kids take their masks off and snap others with that clastic (just like rubber bands) especially during recess.” = Debbie & Dustin Emme “My child has speech issues and has been in speech since he was three. If he needs to listen to teachers speak through masks and they sound muffled how is his speech supposed to develop any further? I feel like this will lead to a regression. He is also very soft spoken and it's hard to hear him the way it is so now put a mask on top of it how will he bring up concerns correctly if you can’t hear him? And like said previously it's just something else for them to play with and be distracted by.” - Jessica Anderson “Our daughter survived 3 strokes when she was 8, I do NOT want her brain to be deprived of oxygen and breathing in her own CO2 while she’s at school because of masks. Children should not have to breath in their own hot, moist CO2 while festering in bacteria filled fields, risking pneumonia, pleurisy, and other issues because of the unproven, non-evidence-based theory that masks do anything at all to protect the health of healthy people and children. Masks should absolutely NOT be mandated.” - Evie DeWitt “As a parent with a child with huge sensory issues this is going to be a huge fight and problem. I think it needs to be a choice.” - Melissa Sue Jenkins “Masks should be allowed if parents want their children to wear them but masks should NOT be ‘mandated for all students and staff, Besides, if masks are so effective in preventing the spread of COVID, it stands to reason that if you have your child wear a mask, they should be protected. Problem solved!” + Kelly Knippling “Masks should be a personal choice and not forced. I feel they will do more harm than good and will lead to more discipline issues and distract from leaming. My child attends the Kids Club program and they don’t wear masks. E-learning is a great option and should be utilized if] parent has great concern about their child’s wellbeing.” - Maci Fessler “If Mitchell mandates face masks, we'll be looking for a new school. Our state capitol is allowing masks but not mandating and has hand sanitizer stations in every room and touchless water fountains too. My husband’s grandkids go to school there, They start Aug. 19.” = Jackie Horton M KERNELS 5 #stopthemaskness“1 feel that it is important that the schoo! district to follow Gov. Kristi Noem’s lead in making decisions based on fact, not fear, and that, managing individuals’ health -- including the decision of whether or not to wear a mask -- should be a personal choice. Children are at low-risk of developing major complications from the coronavirus, and it has been proven that they also prevent little risk of transmission to adults. In healthcare, we typically make a cost-benefit analysis when choosing a treatment plan for a problem. In this case, the perceived (albeit unproven) benefit of masking does not warrant the risk of psychological and cognitive setbacks. I think it is more important to implement and adhere to a strict policy on keeping ill children home from school. I recommend temperature checks at the door and allowing parents who prefer not to mask their children to sign a waiver indicating that they accept the risk of potential infection for their child, in order to protect the school district from potential litigation, yet still be able to provide an ‘education far superior to the eLearning model that was implemented last spring and was proven to create setbacks in learning and social development. - Dr. Rebecca Studelska-Hempel “Perhaps the focus should be on keeping coughing, sneezing, runny nose children home instead of sending them to school. A healthy person wearing a mask makes no sense because they are not coughing ‘or sneezing out droplets. My issue with cloth masks are that they are not scientifically proven to prevent the spread of any viral illness. My children get headaches after about half an hour of wearing masks and I ‘worry about how their learning will be impacted. It ‘even hear and understand a person who is wearing a mask. | object to mandatory mask requirements. - Corey & Wendy Axtell also very difficult to read facial expressions and to “1 feel like the people who want their children to wear masks should just do the E-learning at home or let them wear them to school. I can see if your child has a compromised immune system, they should be careful anyway and always wear a mask in public places to try to prevent being exposed. So having that ‘option to stay home would be nice for them or anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable sending their kids to school. [just think kids will be sneezing and coughing into it all day long and if they forget to wash them at night when they get home that’s how many days in a row wearing a contaminated mask. I don’t see the point of wearing them at school when it will cause possibly more harm than good. Kids also will be playing with them and talking about them too much to even focus on what is being taught half the time. 1 ‘could see taking temperatures for anyone who participates or goes into school or sporting event. Each child could have their own hand sanitizer at their desk with a Kleenex box next to them when in their classroom, If that would be more comfortable for people.” ~ Marcy & Austin Gregg “Lam concerned that masks will be a huge distraction to the learning process. Also if they have to wear them during school what does that mean for extracurricular activities such as show choir, basketball ete ‘where a mask is not feasible. I think it should be up to the parents to decide if their kids should wear a ‘mask. If they aren’t comfortable sending them to school then they have the option to home school.” - Janelle Davis “Masks are not to be used in the place of social distancing since OSHA doesn’t consider cloth masks to be PPE, What is the point of wearing masks when children are going to be in a classroom or lunchroom, et. and being closer than 6 feet apart? Parents should have the choice whether or not to have their children ‘wear masks. Ifa parent isn’t comfortable with that, then E-Learning is an option for them. The masks surgeons are wearing are OSHA certified PPE. A majority of the masks being worn in public are not compliant and pose a risk for infections and so forth. Ifthe public starts wearing these types of masks, ‘medical facilities will run low and in my opinion, frontline workers that have direct contact with infected patients should have compliant masks and not the general public.” - Melinda Kristensen M KERNELS 6 #stopthemaskness 22“I personally believe if you are worried about not wearing masks then e-learning should be your option. Unless you're wearing a N95 mask it’s not helping anyways. Wearing a mask all the time, you have a better chance of getting a bacterial infection.” ~ Cody Larson “While I think masks will be very difficult for children to wear all through the day and can cause other problems, I do think they can take other precautions like taking temperatures at the door not letting parents come in to the school unless absolutely necessary and not allow students to school if an immediate family member has tested positive or are awaiting test results. I feel it should be our choice to have them ‘wear masks, While I want to keep everyone safe I also think that forcing the students to wear masks is not the solution.” = Kyleena Dumas “Maybe instead of starting school in August with masks we should give it more time and start after ‘Thanksgiving? I would like the idea of Mitchell School District asking parents for ideas rather than telling us our kids have no choice. There's grown adults at my job that were given 2 free washable masks, Some of these adults rarely wash them. The school expects these same parents to wash them for their kids? And then we go from school to school bus?” - Carolyn Guthrie KERNELS 7 #stopthemaskness 3Individuals Against Mask Mandates Gretchen Munger Brooke Stransky Amy Polreise Allison Hon Sarah Pillps-Weins Charlie Bates Shawn Crago Lyndsie Schoenfelder Cris & Bobbie Sperlch “Trish Bates Jason Boblen Mandy Stevens Lydia Brink Cody Larson Heidi Mendenhall Ruth Ragels Angela & Steven Bartscher Dave Soulek Cori Goldammer Douglas R. Endorf Carie Young Maci Fessler Janelle Davis Bonita Hohn Jessiew Anderson Melinda Kristensen Cathy Blindauer Stephanie Myers Jared Donahue Heidi Churebill Melissa Sue Jenkins Annie Kowall Royals Cody & Jill Larson Teresa Hart Shawna Claussen Kyleena Dumas Penny Overwex Carolyn Guthrie ® Derek & Ashley Davis Lori Kayl Kelly Knippling Jackie Horton Shawna Claussen Marcy & Austin Gregg, Jodi Jennings Kristen Gillen Corey & Wendy Axtell Dr. Rebecca Studelska-Hempel ‘Amy E, Honomichl Terasa Gillen Jackie Horton Michelle Mogek Tarilynn Gerlach Evie DeWitt Jason Bohlen Sonja VanErdewyk Dr. John VanErdewyk Hstopthemaskness.