Williamson County School System Superintendent Jason Golden acknowledged this week that WCS students who will not wear face coverings or haven’t received medical or religious exemptions currently attend classes in separate rooms.
This, according to the Nashville-based FOX 17. The station reported that a federal order prevents students from opting out of the mask mandate.
“Golden said there are less than 10 students in this situation,” according to FOX 17.
“Still, board members questioned: Is there nothing we can do better in this situation?”
Golden (pictured above) reportedly said the quality of this In-School-Suspension (ISS) “is not the same as physically being in a classroom.”
The station quoted one parent, Kristin McKinney, who attended a WCS board meeting this week. McKinney reportedly labeled the school system’s practice as “evil and wrong.”
A Nolensville mother told The Tennessee Star this month that WCS officials suspended her two children indefinitely because they won’t wear their COVID-19 masks on campus.
Both children attend Mill Creek Middle School.
Kristin Benton said the WCS would only take her children back into regular school if they either agreed to wear COVID-19 masks or signed religious exemptions.
Benton cited the work of an industrial hygienist who said masks are ineffective against the spread of COVID-19 and even cause harm when worn over long periods of time.
“As a parent it is my responsibility to protect my kids,” Benton told The Star at the time.
“I can’t in good conscience put my kids in masks knowing it could harm them.”
WCS spokeswoman Carol Birdsong said at the time that she could not discuss a student’s disciplinary issues.
Benton said her two children — in the sixth grade and the eighth grade — have no prior history of disciplinary issues at school. She said her two children, while in ISS, have access to computers and do schoolwork, but they did not receive any other instruction.
Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw ruled last month that Williamson County Schools could force students to wear masks, temporarily halting an executive order by Governor Bill Lee that previously made masks optional.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
