Virginia mom sounds off on school board mask hypocrisy: 'We the parents are fed up'
Virginia mother of two Alecia Vaught joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss school board members' hypocrisy over mask-wearing policies in the classroom.
Rysa Bankston of Murray, Kentucky, battled mask mandates at her son’s pre-school through a large portion of the coronavirus pandemic — and said doing her research and standing up for her little boy got her through the struggles.
While Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, issued an executive order last August mandating masks in Kentucky schools, this month he advised schools to continue the masking policies. Today, many school districts in the Bluegrass State are relaxing the mask requirements.
Bankston, 31, has strong feelings about what happened to her family.
"I haven’t ever felt like masks work — people are still getting sick," Bankston told Fox News Digital in a phone interview, expressing her opinion.
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She has a 5-year-old son, Deacon; she and her boyfriend also have a 10-month-old baby. The mom's struggle with the Calloway County Schools started when Deacon began pre-school in September 2021, she said.
During the second week of school, parents received an email that masks were mandatory for the children, Bankston said.
"Right away, Deacon said he couldn’t breathe [while] wearing a mask," she said.
Mom Rysa Bankston of Kentucky shared the issues she and her young son, Deacon, experienced when masking of students was enforced in their school district last fall. She told her son "that he has rights," she said. (Rysa Bankston)
‘Bouts’ of anxiety
Bankston said her son had "consistent bouts" of anxiety and crying about wearing masks at school, too. (There is no independent evidence that masking caused the child's anxiety.)
She said she "talked straight" to him.
"I explained to my son that he has rights — and he didn't have to wear [a mask] if he didn't want to. These are mandates, not laws."
"I explained to my son that he has rights — and he didn't have to wear [a mask] if he didn't want to. These are mandates, not laws."
The school, however, put a mask on her son despite her concerns, Bankston said. After that, "I told them that they were not to physically touch my child unless he’s hurt someone, or he’s hurt himself," she said.
She said school staff told the students, "If you don’t wear a mask, you’ll get in trouble at home." This was confusing for her son, she noted, since Deacon knew his mom's clear position on mask wearing.
Bankston told Fox News Digital that many staff members were kind and helpful during the mandate. She said she relied on logic when speaking with them.
Little Deacon will soon finish up his first year of preschool in Kentucky. He had trouble breathing, his mother told Fox News Digital, when he was forced to wear a mask at school starting last fall. (Rysa Bankston)
"What’s the real point of the masks?" she said she asked the principal and other administrators.
"They [the students] have them on while they're at their desks," Bankston noted, "but they were walking through hallways without them."
Bankston also said she challenged the mask rules when she learned the children didn’t need to wear masks outdoors at school. Even when playing outside, she said, "kids get in each other’s faces!"
‘Any and all remedies’
On Sept. 29, 2021, Bankston said she received a "hand-delivered" letter from the superintendent’s office after she'd sent her son to school without a mask. Bankston said the superintendent himself brought her the letter (she shared the letter's full contents with Fox News Digital).
The letter said, in part, that if she refused to put a mask on her son and refused to pick him up when he was in violation of the mandate, the school would need to pursue "any and all remedies available," including contacting family services "to ensure the child was placed in a safe environment because he could not attend our school unmasked, without a valid medical waiver."
Among its other points: The superintendent said he "respected" the mom's right to an opinion but was duty-bound to enforce the school mask mandate.
"The superintendent got loud with me on my own doorstep," Bankston related to Fox News Digital. "I said, ‘This conversation is over. You’re not going to intimidate me, and you don’t scare me. I am fighting for my child.’"
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Fox New Digital reached out to the superintendent for comment about details of the story. Ryan Marchetti, director of professional development and public relations for the Calloway County schools, did not address the family's individual instance but wrote in an email statement, "Throughout the pandemic, we have followed guidance from health agencies and have complied with requirements from state and federal authorities."
He also wrote, "As of today [Feb. 21, 2022], in our school district, face coverings are required on buses due to a federal mandate. Face coverings are also required in our Area Technology Center by state mandate."
Marchetti added that in the preschool, "face coverings are optional for students and have not been required since early January."
‘This is my family’
Rysa Bankston said that during the mask mandates, she came up with a novel idea.
"I went online and purchased a ‘masquerade mask’ — basically, a dressy party mask," she said. "They’re practically see-through and full of holes, so my son could breathe" through it, she said.
Rysa Bankston bought this mask for her son to use at school when masks were enforced, she said. She sent this image to Fox News Digital. (Rysa Bankston)
Bankston said she never heard anything further about masking after that.
The mom noted that there were "a lot of us" fighting the mask mandates, and many parents spoke out at school board meetings, she said.
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Bankston said the situation brought out her protective "mama bear" instincts. "This is my family, and we alone make the final decisions concerning our children’s health and safety," she said.
When it comes to masking, Bankston believes in freedom of choice.
Another view of the "party" mask that Rysa Bankston purchased for her young son to wear at school when masking was mandated. (Rysa Bankston)
"If masking makes you feel safe, go for it!" she said.
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‘Just trying to do their jobs'
Young Deacon is thriving today in his pre-school Kentucky classroom (masks are optional as of this writing), his mom said.
Bankston said she appreciates the staff members who have listened to her.
"We’ve had our issues and we’ve gotten through them," she said. "Teachers are just trying to do their jobs."
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Bottom line, she also said: Kids have rights and choices.
In her opinion, she said, "They should never be forced by the government to do something that is harmful to them."
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