A California father has shared a video of his 4-year-old son being removed from school for not wearing a mask.
In the video recorded by the father, who is only identified as Shawn, the boy can be seen walking out of Theuerkauf Elementary School in Mountain View, a city in Silicon Valley.
“I’m sorry, he’s not able to come in unless he has his mask on,” says principal Michelle Williams.
“I welcome him here, and I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I want him here, but it is our district’s policy that students have to wear a mask,” she adds.
The child is seen being escorted out of his classroom by Williams with a slip of paper. He runs over to his father and asks, “Daddy, what does it say?”
“He is a lovely child. We are here to support and serve him,” Williams continues. “I am here to serve all our students on our campus. I cannot keep spending time on this same issue. I’m going to have to have you removed from campus if you do not leave at this time.”
While Shawn is recording, he says “They called a police officer to remove a four-year-old from campus.”
The officer tells Shawn that he is there to enforce the rules, but also empathizes with him.
“I can’t say what they are doing is wrong; I can’t say what you are doing is wrong. Both sides have valid points,” the officer said.
“For me, I just have to ensure on the campus as a whole that kids get their education,” he added. “You seem like a good dude, you seem like a good father.”
On Friday, the day after the incident, Mountain View Whisman School District changed its policy, in accordance with a new CDC guideline.
Students at the nine primary schools and two middle schools are now no longer required to wear face masks, reported Daily Mail.
Shawn, however, claims that mask mandates have not gone away because they can be easily reinstated.
The father also told Daily Mail that he and his wife believe their son may have special needs. The boy has never worn a face mask before and became distressed at doctor visits when asked to put one on.
Shawn said he began voicing his concerns about mandatory masks to Mountain View Whisman School District in the spring.
“They told me to force it on him,” Shawn said. “They are basically telling me to assault and batter my son.”
The father added that the school also said they could delay the start of education if they were unhappy with the policy. “They said school doesn’t have to begin until the age of six,” he explained.
Unlike the majority of California schools, where masks are now optional, Mountain View School District’s policy is different.
Shawn said he will continue to fight the issue. “This fight came to me,” he added. “I’m just trying to drop off my son.”