A parent has reportedly assaulted a teacher following a dispute over masks on the first day of school in Sutter Creek, California.
According to KCRA in Sacramento, the incident occurred about an hour after classes commenced at Sutter Creek Elementary School on Wednesday.
District Superintendent Torie Gibson told KCRA that a father who disagreed with the school's mask mandate saw his daughter walk out of the building sporting a face covering. He reportedly approached the school's principal and the two got into a heated argument. A male teacher intervened and the exchange escalated to a physical altercation.
Per the school district's policy, all students are to wear masks indoors unless they have a medical exemption. This is aligns with the state Department of Public Health's mandate and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for school reopenings.
Gibson said the teacher in question was bleeding by the end of encounter, suffered "lacerations on his face, some bruising on his face and a pretty good knot on the back of the head." He received treatment at a local hospital and was released later that day.
It is unclear if the parent was injured, but KCRA reported he has been banned from school premises.
Gibson said a police report has been filed with the Sutter Creek Police Department and that the school district is cooperating with an investigation by the Amador County District Attorney's office.
"If it's appropriate to press charges, we will do that," Gibson said.