Alum Rock School District, a working class, small-business-heavy district of East San Jose, California, is continuing to perpetuate what is at best the most ridiculous and at worst the cruelest part of the whole covid-mandates fiasco, which is masking children in school. Alum Rock School District is one of the last few holdouts NATIONWIDE to maintain this coercive tactic against the local families it is supposed to serve. Thankfully, a father of two sons, fourth and sixth graders, is suing the district because it is refusing instruction to his sons. Adelante Academy has disallowed his sons’ entry to the school because they decline to wear COVID masks. The father has let the school know that the masks irritate his sons’ faces and are a distraction to their learning. But the school has made no accommodations for the boys’ education. He has asked for homework assignments or class handouts so his sons can continue their education at home. The school has refused. As the basis for the suit, the father’s attorney cites, “The children of California have the right to in-person education free from harassment and discrimination and in this situation the district is violating those rights.” Darn straight they are. Shame on you, Alum Rock School District.
Let’s take a look at the school officials’ decision in light of current public policy. The Center for Disease Control recently revised its COVID-related recommendations on vaccinations, physical separation, quarantining and masking. It is no longer the CDC recommendation that schools screen ‘apparently healthy’ students. The intention of the change in CDC guidance, according to the Washington Post, is to put “more of the onus on individuals, rather than on schools, businesses and other institutions, to limit viral spread.” Evidently, the Alum Rock school board believes it understands the balance between parental and school official health decisions for students better than the CDC. Evidently, the Alum Rock school board believes it can define a healthy learning environment better than the students’ parents.
About the CDC’s reasoning behind the changes, CDC epidemiologist Greta Massetti told reporters, “The current conditions of this pandemic are very different from those of the last two years.” Evidently, the Alum Rock school board is making 2022 decisions based on 2020-2021 news.
The CDC policy changes reflect its desire to continue to establish, “sustainable measures to further reduce medically significant illness as well as to minimize strain on the health care system, while reducing barriers to social, educational, and economic activity.” Evidently, the Alum Rock school board is not as interested in reducing barriers to…educational…activity as the CDC. As a result, it is being sued.
William Hanage, an epidemiologist at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, explains that these more relaxed CDC guidelines are “a concession to realism, to the way that a lot of people are handling this.” That is, the CDC recognizes that most of the country is doing just fine with a more relaxed way of responding to COVID-19. Evidently, the Alum Rock school board is not as interested in realism as the rest of the country, including neighboring school districts such as San Jose Unified which has no mask mandate.
Does it matter who you elect to office, be it school board members or U.S. Representatives? You bet it does. For the past three years, I’ve fought hard as a county supervisor in San Benito County to establish a healthy balance between family medical decisions and county medical guidance as the basis for making those decisions. I’ve fought against overreaching government mandates and for a well-educated and empowered public which will make its finest decisions when it is best educated on both the risks and the benefits of restrictions placed on our educational and business endeavors. Alum Rock School District is within the boundaries of California Congressional District 18, and I care deeply about preserving the rule of law and constitutional protections for the families that reside there.
I’m Peter Hernandez and I’m running for U.S. Congress, CA District 18. Your vote for Peter Hernandez will keep you in control of your schools and businesses.
Peter Hernandez is a first generation Mexican-American, born and raised in San Benito County, California, by parents who worked the fields, and he grew up in the agricultural community. His parents instilled in him a strong work ethic, a love for God, and a deep respect for the American Dream and American Exceptionalism. As a small business owner today, Peter understands firsthand how inflation, over-regulation and burdensome taxes are killing the middle class economy. As a Latino man, Peter is dedicated to encouraging Hispanic families in the civic and electoral process, and looks forward to serving as their voice and representative in US Congress. Peter currently holds of ice as a County Supervisor for San Benito County. During the oppressive California pandemic shutdowns, Peter stood against the overreaches of the Administrative State, and fought to keep businesses open, believing the local communities should decide for themselves how to best care for and protect their constituents. Peter is an America First candidate who stands against the harmful progressive policies of the Biden administration and the current Democrat Congress. He will fight to: RENEW the rule of law; RESTORE strong families and parental rights; REVIVE the middle class and small businesses. www.hernandezforcongress.com
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