ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A mother who’s also an attorney claims the lack of a mask mandate in St. Johns County schools amounts to discrimination against her son.
Angelique Kelley is now asking the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education to investigate.
“I hope that St. Johns County will institute a mask mandate in accordance with CDC policy,” Kelley said. “It is learning disabled and medically fragile children that are slipping through the cracks. And we cannot just stand by and let nothing happen.”
Kelley says her son is home this week after being exposed to COVID-19 at school and the whole family is quarantining.
Data from the St. Johns County School District shows thousands of students are in the same boat, with more than 6% of students infected or in quarantine as of Tuesday.
“It’s very difficult to provide special education services at home. These children need to be in school,” Kelley said.
Kelley filed the complaint on behalf of her son but says the problem is much bigger.
“There are hundreds of kids in St. Johns County that are having this problem,” she added.
She says she’s gotten a lot of support in the form of calls and messages.
The CDC recommends universal masking for students and teachers in schools regardless if they’re vaccinated or not.
A spokesperson with St. Johns County schools said it’s too soon for the district to comment on something it hasn’t seen or reviewed. Kelley said she couldn’t release the bulk of the complaint because it includes health information about her son.