(WWJ) More than 100 parent groups representing a couple of hundred thousand parents in Michigan have a message for the powers that be:
They do not want their children required to be masked, tested, vaccinated, or quarantined in order to attend public schools or play school sports in the fall.
In an open letter addressed to President Joe Biden, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the CDC, state health department leadership and school administrators, the groups (school down for the list) say they've "had enough" of such mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although public health officials continue to stress the importance of face coverings, routine testing and vaccinations in keeping the virus and its variants from spreading, these groups contend that this "government overreach" is unnecessary, and in fact harmful to students.
What they're asking for is a choice.
The letter reads as follows:
"We represent approximately 120,000 parents from over 100 parent advocacy groups in the great State of Michigan and we hereby inform you that we will not allow a repeat of the 2020-2021 school year.
"We parents have had enough of forced mandates, knee-jerk reactions and government overreach into decision-making regarding the well-being of our children. We will not co-parent with the government. We have watched our children succumb to harm at the hands of government, special interest groups and inept leadership, and will not tolerate the continuation of it. We believe in choice and parental rights. We believe that all children should have the right to an education, free from mandates that have not been proven necessary or beneficial. Universal and “one size fits all” approaches have failed Michigan’s school children. Children are not political pawns and our tax dollars are not to be used to cater to the demands of special interest groups, unions or any other political organization.
"As we enter the 2021-2022 school year, parents must have a choice. Education will not be conditioned upon wearing a mask, scheduled COVID testing, or vaccination status. Our children will not be mandated to miss school for 14 days due to close contact quarantines. Parents will be the decision makers for the health and well-being of our children and we will no longer remain silent. We will stand up for our children and their rights.
"To the school boards, school administrators, local government leaders and businesses who have respected parental choice, we applaud you. We anticipate and appreciate your continued support of children and our rights as parents to do what is best for them as individuals. We do not wish to take away from the learning environment of any child, and therefore support choices for individual families.
"For the officials who do not support parents and our right to choose, please take note. Our voices, our votes and our dollars will be directed to the schools, candidates and businesses that support Michigan’s parents and students. Calls for mandates, lockdowns and universal masking in schools are not rooted in science, and have caused significant harm to the most vulnerable in our state.
"We parents have made this known to you for over a year, and yet your message continues to be one of authority and cruelty, disregarding the social and emotional well-being of Michigan’s 1.4 million students. Over 120,000 of us (and growing) have linked arms as mothers, fathers, educators, healthcare professionals and community members to make sure that parents always have a seat at the table when the issue is the education of our children. We implore you to do what is right, and to stop pushing fear, political agendas and bad science at the feet of our most precious members of society. Enough is enough.
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WE WILL NOT BE SILENT.
Sincerely,
MICHIGAN Save Our Kids Open Our Schools
Let Them Play Michigan, Inc.
Americans Against Forced Vaccinations
Archdiocese of Detroit Catholic School Parents for Liberty
Bay County Parents Against Close Contact Quarantines
Berrien County Parents for School Freedoms
Bloomingdale Our Children, Our Choice
Bluewater Informed Families & Community Together
BPS Parents for Liberty
Caro Community Parents
Cass City Parents Stand Up
Centerline Public Schools United Parents
Cheboygan Freedom Fighters
Chelsea Return to Learn
Chippewa County Business Owners
Chippewa Valley Schools-Take Back Our Schools
Clare County Parents Against Mask & Vaccine Mandates
Clarkston Parents United
Clarkston Schools Parent Advocates
Common Sense for Grosse Pointe Schools
Coopersville Community for Medical Freedom
Dundee Families Against Forced Mandates & Recommendations
East China School District Parents
Eaton Rapids Students First
Edwardsburg Parent Network
Escanaba Parents Against Restrictions
FEC United Michigan
Forest Hills for Just Education
Fowlerville Parents United
Frankenmuth Families Taking a Stand
Free Our Lake Orion Community Schools Students
Freedom for Fall-Van Buren County
Freedom for Flushing Kids
Freeland Parents Stand Up
Freeschoolers of Michigan
Fruitport Parents Stand Up
Galesburg Augusta Parents for Choice
Gladiator Pride! Fowlerville Parent and Community Page
Gladwin Parents Against Forced Masks and Forced Testing
Grand Haven Conservative Parents
Grand Ledge Parents for In-Person Learning
Grand Rapids Diocese Catholic Schools Families for Medical Freedom
Get Northville Kids Back to School
Hopkins Breathing Freely
Huron Valley Schools Parent Advocates
Informed Choice Michigan
Informed Parents of Allendale
Informed Parents of Michigan
Informed Parents of Kalamazoo and Portage Public Schools
Informed Parents of Mona Shores Public Schools
Informed Parents of Ottawa and Kent
Informed Parents of Spring Lake
Island Parents (Grosse Ille)
JPS for Youth
Lowell Kids 1st
Marysville Parents for Quality Education
Mecosta County Parents for Freedom of Choice in our Schools
Michigan Educators Advocating for Freedom Michigan Patriots-Genesee County
Michigan for Vaccine Choice
Michigan Health Choice Alliance
Moms for Liberty-Ingham County
Moms for Liberty-Livingston County
Moms for Liberty-Macomb County
Monroe Public Parents, Standing Up for Our Children
Montague Parents Speak Out
Muskegon County Parents Unite
Neutral Education at Hudsonville Public Schools
Open Up MSU & U of M
Ortonville Parents Standing Up for Our Kids
Otsego and Plainwell Parents for Choice
Ottawa County Parent Voices for Freedom of Health Choice
Ottawa Impact
Our Children, Our Choice
Parent Voices of EGR
Parents Against Tyranny
Parents Peacefully Protesting Mask Mandates
Parents of Wayne/Westland Public Schools
Patriot Parents of Rochester Hills
P-CCS Families for F2F
Reed City Parents/Community Members Against Masks
Reeths Puffer Informed Parents
Riverview Parents Against Masks
Rochester Community Schools Parents for In-person Education
Saline Supports Return to Learn
South Lyon Families Who Support In-person Learning
Southgate Parents Against Mandates
Speak Up Sparta
Stand Up & Fight for Yale Students
Stand Up Blue Devils-Richmond
Stand Up Bulldogs-Romeo
Stand Up Byron Center
Stand Up Cal (Caledonia)
Stand Up Calhoun County
Stand Up CAPS (Coopersville Area Public Schools)
Stand Up Cedar Springs
Stand Up Clinton County
Stand Up for Freedom & Our Kids-Ogemaw County
Stand Up Kent County
Stand Up Lenawee County
Stand Up Rockford
Stand Up TK
Stand Up Wayland
Summerfield Parents for Autonomy
Time for a Change in Linden, Michigan
Unite Downriver Free Our Children
United Downriver Free Our Children
United Parents of Livonia Public Schools
United Parents of St. Clair County
U-M Livingston County
Unmask Clinton County
Unmask National Heritage Academies
Unmask Our Bedford Kids
Unmask Our Children-Lapeer
Unmask Our Children Michigan
Unmask Our Kids Garden City
Unmask Our Kids North Branch
Unmask Shiawassee County
Unmask the Children of Ida
Utica Community Schools Parents Against the School Board
Vicksburg Parents Against C-19 Mandates
Walled Lake Parents Supporting In-Person Education
Waterford Schools United for Choice
West End Local Voices Marquette
Whitehall Informed Parents Stand Up Armada Tigers
Senator Kim LaSata, Chair, Appropriations Subcommittee on Universities & Community Colleges
Senator Lana Theis, Chair, Senate Committee on Education and Career Readiness
Senator Jim Runestad, District 15"
Readers should note that Michigan does not currently have a statewide mask or vaccine mandate in place.
However, Whitmer said Monday she hopes that schools — which have been allowed to set their own rules — will heed the CDC, which recommends that masks be worth in public school classrooms.
“We know that the Delta variant is spreading, that it remains a very serious concern and that children cannot be vaccinated yet under 12," said the governor, "and that's why we really are strongly encouraging districts to adopt masking policies."
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