OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee (OKPLAC) is pushing for Gov. Kevin Stitt to declare a public health emergency.
They say that would help keep schools open.
“This is an SOS to Governor Stitt please declare a state of emergency and allow our school districts to be able to make the moves they need to mitigate this virus and keep our kids in schools,” Misty Bradley, chair of OKPLAC, said.
If there’s a public health emergency, school districts can decide for themselves if they should mandate masks.
Bradley says she thinks districts should be able to mandate masks, especially if they can’t socially distance.
“I just don’t think we can keep kids social distanced enough, and it would help with the quarantines,” she said.
Bradley, a parent of three, says she’s concerned about both the virus and not having a consistent learning environment for her kids.
“I’m super concerned about continuity of learning,” she said.
She says COVID exposure is already impacting her family a few days into the school year.
Her son is in virtual learning, and she decided to keep him in it for the semester for some stability, rather than have the possibility of more quarantines.
“We made the hard decision, honestly made me a little sick at my stomach, because he’s a kid that needs to be in the classroom,” she said.
The governor’s office says they are not responding, but last week they said parents should make decisions about their kids, not the government.
