Like in the old Soviet Union unless you obey silly rules and allow yourself to be punished for asking questions, the Simi Valley Unified School District will violate State ;law and prevent children from getting an education. I am surprised the father in this case has not filed felony child abuse charges—and the Superintendent has not been arrested for embezzlement—the stealing of an education based on junk science an “the State told me to do it.” Same words used in Europe in World War II.
“The student’s father, Timothy Hernandez, wrote on his Instagram account—which was open for public view—about his son being kicked out of school Jan. 7 for noncompliance with the state’s mask mandate, which the district says it is required to follow.
Hernandez said that when his son tried to return to the campus to get his schoolwork on Jan. 10, he was first forced out and then locked out of the classroom for “peacefully not complying to wear a mask.”
The video taken by Hernandez shows his son sitting near a fence on the field after allegedly being denied entrance to his class.
“My son is out here by himself because of the whole mask thing,” Hernandez says Like in a segregationist community—the school district is denying an Hispanic kid and education? Where is the ACLU and the Progressives?
Father, son frustrated with COVID mandate
Speakers come to defense of dad whose child was excluded from class because he wouldn’t wear a mask
By Michele Willer-Allred, ACORN, 1/21/22
A video on social media showing a 9-year-old Garden Grove Elementary School student banned from class for not wearing a mask prompted an outcry at the Simi Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday.
Shortly after trustees appointed Hani Youssef as new superintendent effective July 1, many of the 20 speakers during the Zoom meeting voiced their frustration with the school district’s handling of the situation.
The student’s father, Timothy Hernandez, wrote on his Instagram account—which was open for public view—about his son being kicked out of school Jan. 7 for noncompliance with the state’s mask mandate, which the district says it is required to follow.
Hernandez said that when his son tried to return to the campus to get his schoolwork on Jan. 10, he was first forced out and then locked out of the classroom for “peacefully not complying to wear a mask.”
The video taken by Hernandez shows his son sitting near a fence on the field after allegedly being denied entrance to his class.
“My son is out here by himself because of the whole mask thing,” Hernandez says. “Today, (my son) refused to leave the campus because he wants to get his studies, he wants to get some kind of education, and they’re not allowing it.”
The video also shows Gene Colato, a school resource officer with the Simi Valley Police Department, approaching Hernandez to inform him that the school is requesting his son be taken home.
Colato explains the school district is citing an education code that states if a student refuses to wear a mask inside a classroom “it is a public health problem that excludes the student from being there.”
“Listen, I can’t say I wouldn’t be doing the same thing right now, but at the end of the day doing it during a school day when kids are on campus is not the time to do that fight,” Colato tells Hernandez.
“There is no fight. We’re not fighting. He’s trying to get an education,” Hernandez responds.
“You don’t care about his ADHD, his mental distress (and) everything else since all of this happened,” Hernandez says to Youssef, who is standing nearby in the video.
“I’m confused how they have that arbitrary power to kick (my son) out after he stated why he won’t wear a mask,” said Hernandez, adding that he couldn’t get a mask exemption from a doctor and that putting his son in independent studies doesn’t work.
Toward the end of the 19-minute video, Colato offered to be the middle man to help address the situation.
“There’s got to be something we can do on both ends so you’re satisfied and they’re satisfied,” Colato tells Hernandez, noting that he would speak with school officials to see what could be done. Going back and forth doesn’t get results, he says.
During Tuesday’s Zoom meeting, Hernandez, a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan, expressed his frustration to the board, calling them accomplices if they promote Youssef to superintendent. His son spoke briefly, too.
Several speakers expressed dismay over the district’s handling of the situation and the mask mandate, which they say doesn’t work to protect against COVID-19. They said masks should be a choice, not a mandate.
“(The student) was not sick or suffering. He was not a danger to anyone. I cannot believe that the district denies his right to his education,” said Simi Valley resident Elena Johnson.
Some speakers also asked why the district requires vaccines.
“To be clear, we do not have a vaccine mandate in place for students. It’s an optional mandate from the governor’s office,” said Superintendent Jason Peplinski.
Katie Weeks, a teacher at SVUSD, said she was happy with the safety regulations that have been put into place, especially because of the number of children who are not well at schools.
“I’m sad to hear that parents are upset, but it’s just to keep students and staff the safest we can be right now,” Weeks said in support of upholding the mask mandate.
Several trustees told the speakers that they were listening to their concerns.
In a phone interview with the Acorn Wednesday, Youssef said that he couldn’t speak about the incident with the minor student because of confidentiality reasons, but that he takes the concerns about the situation seriously.
He said the district is following mask guidelines to keep both students and adults safe on campuses.
“Why would we not comply with state and local mandates? These are not school district-generated mandates. The entire state of California is dealing with the same health and safety order. It’s not optional,” Youssef said.
He said the elected school board members are accountable for the health and safety of 16,000 students and 2,200 employees.
“They are legally, and they could be personally, liable for not following state and local guidelines,” Youssef said. “When you don’t have that level of accountability and responsibility, your opinion could be different.”
Youssef said he doesn’t want to see schools closed if they don’t follow the mandates. He also cited an incident involving Northern California’s Soulsbyville Elementary School District, which has been excluded from insurance coverage by the Tuolumne Joint Powers Authority for ignoring indoor masking and vaccine requirements.
“Where people are frustrated across the country (about vaccinations and masks), these things need to be taken and fought in court,” he said. “Your local school district doesn’t have that authority, although some believe that we do. We don’t.”
Governors in some states, like Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, want to give parents the option to opt-out of mask mandates at school but are facing pushback from other lawmakers, school districts, and some parent groups, too.
As of Jan. 20, school officials and Hernandez were still at odds.
Hernandez was back outside of Garden Grove Elementary on Thursday morning, advocating for his son.
He told the Acorn his son was “segregated to a bench outside of class, where he is given the work but with no instruction.”
SVUSD is continuing to assess the matter.
“We are still exploring our legal options and requirements with this situation,” Youssef told the Acorn on Thursday.
