Petition to End Masking of Students In Charleroi Area School District

We, the undersigned, urgently request that Charleroi Area School District immediately and fully revoke its policy that students must wear masks (also called face coverings) in order to attend and/or while attending school; and while participating in any school events (including but not limited to concerts, sporting events, and clubs).

We assert that:

1. Parents, adoptive parents, and legal guardians have primary responsibility for the health and welfare of their children. Governments and school districts may not usurp this natural right. Requiring that students wear masks is a violation of civil liberties.
2. Masks do little to nothing to protect children’s health. Studies and medical literature support this statement. Moreover, very few children have contracted covid-19 and nearly zero have died from it.
3. Masks harm children’s health. Studies show that masks lower oxygen intake, which can lead to acute or chronic injury and can worsen underlying health conditions. Alarmingly, “interfering with the breathing of a child” is one indicator of child abuse.
4. Children are in danger of social and emotional harm due to masking. Masks are a tool for “social distancing,” which medical literature clearly equates to social isolation—a human rights violation. Mask wearing is especially cruel to special education students and those with mental health challenges.
5. Students’ learning is curbed due to masks. Data is emerging to show learning loss, especially in speech and reading. For special education children or English language learners, masks can be a direct violation of “least restrictive environment” under the special education law.

We, the citizens, urge this district to stop the policy of “mandated masking.” We look forward to seeing the smiling faces of our healthy children returning­­­ to school without masks.

Matthew Smith    Contact the author of the petition