School board in New Mexico suspended over refusal to comply with mask mandate

A New Mexico school board was suspended Wednesday after they refused to comply with the New Mexico Public Education Department’s (PED) rules on coronavirus safety protocols, according to local news station KOB. 

After the Floyd school board voted last month to make masks and social distancing optional, they were given until Tuesday to rework the policy, which contradicted the state’s guidelines that students and staff must continue to wear masks indoors if they are unvaccinated. Floyd School Board President Leon Nall said they would not reverse their policy. 

PED Secretary Ryan Stewart responded by suspending all five board members.

“The PED takes its responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all staff and students incredibly seriously,” Stewart said in a memo. “We cannot put students, staff and their families at unnecessary risk as we continue the fight against the Delta variant. By ignoring these basic safety measures, the board impairs the ability of the district to offer safe and uninterrupted in-person learning opportunities.”

Conflicting guidance about masks and COVID-19 safety protocols has caused confusion as the back-to-school season approaches. President Biden addressed the subject in July, saying that he expects the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to urge unvaccinated students to wear masks in schools and to continue to advise vaccinated students that they don’t need masks. 

Francis Collins, the director of the National Institute of Health, said Sunday that requiring students under the age of 12 to wear masks is a “sacrifice worth making.”

“The masks are the best thing we’ve got right now to reduce [transmission],” Collins said.