California school district caves after students demonstrate against masks during mass walkout



Hundreds of students at a California school walked out of class on Tuesday afternoon in protest of their district's continued mask mandate despite statewide requirements being relaxed.

The walkout, according to reports, was in protest of the delay in lifting mask mandates at schools across California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was expected to lift the mandate on Monday, but Dr. Mark Ghaly — California's Health and Human Services Secretary — said there would be a two-week delay in order to monitor case counts.

What are the details?

According to Fox News, students assembled outside Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, California, on Tuesday and demanded the district remove its indoor mask mandate.

Later that day, the El Dorado Union High School District announced that it would be changing mask protocols and would not enforce an indoor mandate by excluding students from school.

"The enforcement of masking will be done by educating students and asking them to mask but no further actions of exclusion from class will be taken," the district said a statement obtained by the outlet. "Moving forward students will not be physically removed from the classroom or receive a discipline consequence to prevent further exclusionary learning loss."

Earlier this week, California began the process of revoking indoor mask mandates. As of Tuesday, vaccinated Californians were able to remove masks in most indoor settings save for schools and other areas that are considered high-risk for transmission.

Fox News reported that unvaccinated people "will still be required to wear masks indoors, and everyone — vaccinated or not — will have to wear masks in higher-risk settings like public transit and nursing homes."

Local governments are permitted to enforce their own indoor mask requirements.

The Washington Examiner reported that while the mask mandate is still in effect at California public schools, some schools have noted to defy state orders and make in-school masks optional.

Wow! Hundreds of kids walked out at Oak Ridge, a @myedhs1 high school, protesting school mask mandates. Dr. Ghaly & @GavinNewsom have started one serious #MaskRevolt in California.pic.twitter.com/4cFw4P2SSc
— Reopen California Schools (@Reopen California Schools) 1644962373

What else is there to know about this?

Jennifer Yoder, an Oak Ridge parent, told the outlet that she and other parents sent their kids to school without masks.

"This was a homegrown thing between the parents and then the kids working together to get everyone on board," Yoder said, and noted that the children who arrived maskless were dismissed.

"It just kept growing and growing. And then they eventually just got up and left those classrooms and ran outside and started their protest," Yoder said.

Hundreds of California students protest mandates by following Gov. Newsom's example and ditching masks



Hundreds of students in Oakdale, California, participated in protests against school mask mandates this week, saying that they were following Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's example.

Students at Oakdale High School, located east of the San Francisco Bay Area in the state's Central Valley region, were banned from attending class after they refused to wear face masks.

The students were instead placed in the gymnasium, which has been designated as a protest site.

The Oakdale Police Department on Feb. 2 said that protests at the high school and other schools in the district were small and peaceful.

"Today there are a few schools throughout town where protests have taken place related to the COVID-19 mask mandate. These gatherings have been small in nature and have been peaceful," the department wrote on Facebook.

Photos and videos of the protest were posted to social media by Let Them Breathe, a group that opposes school mask mandates.

Oakdale CA students throughout the district are refusing to wear masks. High schoolers have been sent to the gym and filled it with more unmasked students on their way.\n\nThese kids are following the governor\u2019s example and we are here to legally support their rights.pic.twitter.com/6cDZOkWvpv
— LET THEM BREATHE (@LET THEM BREATHE) 1643831329

High school freshman Nolan Harris was one of those protesting. He told KOVR-TV that "about a hundred" high school students were packed into the gym after they refused to wear face masks because Newsom didn't wear a mask at the NFC Championship Game last weekend.

Statewide orders enacted by the governor require students to wear masks in schools because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If they don’t follow by their own rules that they’re trying to force upon me, why should I follow them,” Harris said.


After being sent to the gym, the students marched from the high school to the district office demanding an end to the school's mask policy.

Unmasked Oakdale Students who were denied entry into class + the gym walked from the high school to the district office which is about a quarter of a mile away. Oakdale is not honoring their right to in person education so our legal team is sending demand letter. #LetThemBreathepic.twitter.com/wPsIpmbwwm
— LET THEM BREATHE (@LET THEM BREATHE) 1643990657

Oakdale Joint Unified School District Superintendent Dave Kline told the Modesto Bee the protesting students created a "difficult" situation for school administrators, who are required by law to enforce the mask mandate.

“They’re very upset with the mask mandate,” Kline said. “They want to see that going away.”

He said that 375 students refused to wear a mask on Wednesday and another 344 students continued the protest Thursday.

The California Department of Public Health requires K-12 schools to implement an indoor mask requirement for all students and for adults when students are present. The agency says that schools should "offer alternative educational opportunities for students who are excluded from campus because they will not wear a face covering.”

Kline explained that students who show up to school without a mask are brought to the front office and offered one. If the student refuses, they will be offered a face shield. If that is refused, the school will contact parents to discuss options like taking periodic mask breaks outside.

If students persist in refusing to wear face coverings, staff will place them in an "alternative setting" on campus, Kline told the Bee.

During Wednesday's protest, elementary school students were sent to the cafeteria and high school students were sent to the gym. Kline said that staff administrators were present to oversee the students.

Some posts on social media claimed that Oakdale high school students were "barricaded" in the school gymnasium and that school officials refused to turn on the heat in an attempt to "freeze them out." The posts claimed that police were called for a wellness check and that an officer sent to the school had to turn on the heat, but the police department said that was not true.

Oakdale Chief of Police Jerry Ramar told TheBlaze that no one filed a complaint about students being locked or otherwise barricaded in the gym.

"If there were kids barricaded, I think the school resource officer would've run that up the chain of command and notified me," Ramar said.

Police said that someone did call about the temperature in the gym, but the school resource officer checked it and confirmed that temp was 64-65 degrees, which was warmer than the temperature outside.

The police chief added that the protests are a matter for the school district to work with parents and students to resolve and that no related criminal complaints have been filed.

School administrators issued a statement clarifying what happened. "Photographs are circulating on social media of closed folding tables leaning against the gym doors at the high school. The captions say that this occurred in order to keep the protesting students housed in the gym from leaving. This information is false," the school said.

"The photos are from this week, but the placement was an unintentional and temporary placement as broken tables were being removed and replaced with safer tables. There are many doors in the gym and only the doors shown in the photos had tables temporarily placed in front of them," the school said.

Update: @OakdaleJUSD has responded to this incident saying \u201cplacement [of the tables] was unintentional and temporary.\u201d The communication does appear to confirm the wellness check by police, but it does not address the claim staff turned off the heat to the gym with kids inside.pic.twitter.com/ixswAdouZy
— Reopen California Schools (@Reopen California Schools) 1644011289

A notice to parents from Oakdale High School officials posted by Let Them Breathe said that "no student will ever be forced to stay in the protest area."

Why student documentation + legal support from us is important! Oakdale feeling pressure after barricading doors to the \u201cprotest\u201d area yesterday. They are honoring students\u2019 1st amendment rights only if they exercise within 1st 20 min but we will uphold kids right to education!pic.twitter.com/2YFbhjrHKE
— LET THEM BREATHE (@LET THEM BREATHE) 1644000477

But the school explained that students who wish to join the protest must come to school and report to the gymnasium within the first 20 minutes of first period. "Students who arrive after that time or who want to only protest a period, will not be admitted to the mask protest room, and their absence for periods missed will not be verified," the school administration said.

"Any student who refuses to wear a mask during class but is not in the mask protest site ... will be sent home for the day," the notice added. "If a student chooses to leave, they will not be readmitted to the protest area. The expectation is that students will remain for the school day, complete coursework while in the protest room, and stay caught up with all coursework inasmuch as is possible when not physically attending class."

The school district said it will continue to follow the state's mask mandate in accordance with CDC guidelines.

California HS teacher blasts students whose parents are concerned about distance learning: 'Come at me'



A California high school teacher has found herself at the center of controversy after several Zoom outbursts she made went viral.

What happened?

Alissa Piro, an English teacher at San Marcos High School in southern California, was caught on video telling the parents of her students to "come at me" if they had concerns with her teaching lessons.

"If your parent wants to talk to me about their profession and their opinion on their profession, I would love to hear that. I know very little about anything else in the other world other than education," Pirro said.

"However, if your parent wants to come talk to me about how I'm not doing a good enough job in distance learning, based on what you need as an individual — just dare them to come at me," the teacher continued. "Because I am so sick to my stomach of parents trying to tell educators how to do their job."

"I have never once gone to a doctor's appointment and tried to tell my medical health provider how to treat me. You know why? Because I know nothing about that!" Piro added.

In another incident, Piro essentially screamed at a student who asked about forming a "white student union." Piro said, "You don't need a white student union, Jake. You get everything."

Newly released video of a @SanMarcosUSD HS teacher going off on students and their parents over distance learning a… https://t.co/HiUi9sms6c
— Reopen California Schools (@Reopen California Schools)1618187949.0

According to Fox News, Piro was referring to an ongoing lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and several school districts as local teacher unions force students to remain in distance learning environments.

A mother of a student in one of Piro's classes relayed the behavior to San Marcos High School principal Adam Dawson. However, Dawson has failed to address the outbursts, Fox News reported, despite calling such behavior "inexcusable."

"She's a bully," the mother reportedly wrote in a private Facebook group. "These rants were so often my child said he 'tuned her out' and was just trying to get thru the class...this is exactly what's wrong with education and if the school district sweeps this then they are just as responsible."

Why are students still learning from home?

Middle and high school students in San Marcos Unified School District remain stuck in a hybrid learning model in which students are split into groups and only attend school in-person two days per week.

In COVID-19 reopening plans, the district insists that students must maintain 6-foot social distancing despite updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say students only need 3 feet of distance.

TikTok video shows Gavin Newsom inside a restaurant while not social distancing



Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom was seen inside a restaurant in Fresno, California, where restaurants are only permitted to be open if they are outside because of Newsom's own stay-at-home order.

Newsom is seen on a TikTok video and photos at the Los Amigos restaurant in Fresno. Based on Newsom's "Blueprint for a Safer Economy" restrictions, Fresno is a purple tier area, which means the area has "widespread" COVID-19 infections. Purple tier regions prohibit bars, breweries, and distilleries to be open, plus indoor dining is banned. Only restaurants and wineries may offer outdoor service.

Despite Newsom's own strict coronavirus constraints that he signed into effect, the governor was inside a restaurant. Newsom, who has preached social distancing to his constituents for months, is seen not physically distancing in the restaurant.

Photo ops w/ no social distancing are okay inside of purple tier restaurants, but don’t you dare wait inside for yo… https://t.co/rcIIkD4VSK
— Bill Melugin (@Bill Melugin)1614488797.0

The video that was originally posted to TikTok shows Newsom with comedian George Lopez.

@PorscheCutie @RichardGrenell @TheLeoTerrell @JamesBradleyCA @KevinKileyCA @BuzzPatterson Here’s the video. https://t.co/CME7vZVzoW
— Reopen California Schools (@Reopen California Schools)1614462972.0

In a video posted by the restaurant, Lopez is seen without a face mask and not practicing social distancing, which Newsom has demanded all Californians practice since the beginning of the pandemic.

Chef Andrew Gruel, a prominent restaurateur in Los Angeles, claimed that Newsom was "dining/drinking" at the restaurant. He astutely noted that the restaurant had a table full of refreshments that commenters believe to be pitchers of water with limes or margaritas.

California is the only state where indoor dining is banned. Industry gutted. It’s an explosive topic. Newsom holds… https://t.co/L3O7aSrbV3
— Chef Andrew Gruel (@Chef Andrew Gruel)1614487940.0

Gruel called for Newsom's resignation on Twitter:

Newsom must resign ASAP. Yesterday he was inside a restaurant dining and doing a painfully cringe-worthy "bit" with George Lopez in a county that is NOT ALLOWED to have indoor dining. It is in purple tier. This is a slap in the face to every restaurant worker. Every citizen.
Newsom must resign ASAP. Yesterday he was inside a restaurant dining and doing a painfully cringe-worthy “bit” with… https://t.co/jdMeHvG7aB
— Chef Andrew Gruel (@Chef Andrew Gruel)1614481490.0

A spokesperson for Newsom's office told Fox News that the governor did not dine at the restaurant. Newsom's camp said he was there to meet with the restaurant's owners, who received a COVID-19 relief grant.

Newsom infamously sparked criticism in November after he flouted his own coronavirus rules when he was caught dining at the luxurious French Laundry in Napa. The Michelin-star restaurant reportedly received $2.4 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans from the Small Business Administration, which is allegedly 17 times more than the average California restaurant.

EXCLUSIVE: We've obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he's in hot water over. The phot… https://t.co/Py6J960zE6
— Bill Melugin (@Bill Melugin)1605677199.0

California voters who are disappointed in Newsom's leadership and hypocrisy during the coronavirus pandemic have started a petition to recall him. The petition organized by The Recall Newsom campaign purportedly has 1,825,000 signatures, more than the necessary threshold of 1,497,709 signatures.

During a speech at CPAC, former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell hinted that he may run for governor of California if Newsom is recalled.

'I feel like I'm going to f***ing shoot myself!': NYC restaurant owners furious over Gov. Cuomo's 'joke' plan to let city eateries open at only 25%



New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not made friends this week.

First, after months of criticism for Cuomo's lousy handling of COVID-19 that led to a surge in nursing home deaths, the state's attorney general revealed that things were actually worse — way worse — than what the governor had claimed.

Turns out the Cuomo administration undercounted COVID nursing home deaths by 50%, Democratic Attorney General Letitia James reported Thursday.

It was so bad that even CNN finally noticed.

And then there's the economy.

The governor shut down his state during the pandemic, and his subjects have suffered. Businesses have been forced to close and nearly 2 million jobs have been lost. It's so bad, that Cuomo's own budget plan forecasted that the state would not reach pre-pandemic employment levels until sometime in 2025.

New York City has been hit exceptionally hard — especially the hospitality and entertainment sectors where restaurants have been forced to offer only outdoor dining or takeout since mid-December. But have no fear, Gothamites, Cuomo said this week that he had a plan to deal with some of the problems.

He's going to allow restaurants to reopen for indoor dining at 25% capacity, he teased Wednesday, the New York Post reported.

This, naturally, is not sitting well with Big Apple restauranteurs who understand that they cannot survive with three-quarters of their seats forced to be off-limits.

These businessmen told the Post that they see the 25% restrictions as "outrageous," both because one-quarter capacity isn't viable and because fellow restaurant owners in other parts of the state — including areas neighboring New York City — have already been allowed to be open at 50%.

For example, Nassau County, which borders Queens, has a 6.5% positivity rate for coronavirus tests, but Queens' rate is 5.8%, the Post reported, citing state data.

"The restaurants are packed in Nassau and I feel like I'm going to f***ing shoot myself!" Rocco Sacramento, the owner of Trattoria L'Incontro in Astoria, Queens, told the Post. "Are you f***ing kidding me?!"

New York City Hospitality Alliance executive director Andrew Rigie told the Post that he's pushing the governor to go beyond 25%, especially considering that the city has better numbers than several other areas that have been allowed to have far more customers.

"New York City has lower infection and hospitalization rates than nearly all counties in the rest of the state where indoor dining is open at 50 percent occupancy," he said. "Our city's restaurants must be treated equitably and reopened safely."

Syed Hossain, who owns Tikka Indian Grill in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which seats just 32 people, scoffed at the idea of opening for eight people, saying, “Twenty-five percent? We can't! It's stupid — I'd be losing money."

Vincent Malerba, the owner of four Staten Island restaurants, really let Cuomo have it for his inconsistencies.

"What are we going to do with 25 percent? It's a joke!" he told the Post. "It's disgusting. I go to the gym, touch everything, get a haircut, but nobody can go to dinner? You can go to New Jersey, my friends' restaurants have an hour wait on a Tuesday."

Malerba had a theory about why Cuomo was being cruel to eateries.

"His ex-girlfriend was a celebrity chef," he said, referring to Cuomo's 14-year relationship with Sandra Lee that came crashing down last year. “Maybe that's why he hates our industry."

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants bars, restaurants to reopen for indoor service 'as quickly as possible'



Far-left Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wants bars and restaurants to reopen for indoor service "as quickly as possible," the Chicago Tribune reported.

"I am very, very focused on getting our restaurants reopened. If we look at the various criteria that the state has set, we are meeting most if not all of those," Lightfoot said Thursday, the paper reported, adding that she said she would discuss the matter with Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. "But I want to get our restaurants and our bars reopened as quickly as possible."

What are the details?

The Tribune said it's Pritzker call regarding when bars and restaurants can reopen for indoor service — and while the city can set stricter rules, it can't enact less-stringent rules.

Lightfoot added that restaurants are highly regulated, get inspections, and have gone "above and beyond" to use indoor "mitigation controls," the paper noted.

"They are going to be one of the safer places," she said, according the Tribune.

The mayor also explained reopening bars and restaurants can help turn back the trend of underground parties that spread COVID-19, the paper noted.

"Let's bring it out of the shadows, let's allow them to have some recreation in restaurants, in bars, where we can actually work with responsible owners and managers to regulate and protect people from COVID-19, so I feel very strongly that we are very close to a point where we should be talking about opening our bars and restaurants," Lightfoot declared, according to the Tribune.

More from the paper:

Lightfoot criticized Pritzker in October when he announced that he would be closing indoor service at bars and restaurants due to a spike in coronavirus cases but she later dropped her objection.

In recent months, Lightfoot has attempted to position herself as a friend to bars and restaurants though she has also faced criticism for the city's anti-coronavirus measures, including stricter rules on liquor sales, which she's since rescinded.

The mayor has also been criticized for how she's handled the reopening of Chicago Public Schools amid COVID-19.

Earlier this month, Lightfoot reiterated a stay-at-home advisory telling people not to go out unless it's necessary. Schools are exempt from the advisory, but the Chicago Teachers Union has said the order and reopening schools are contradictory.