ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp is planning to introduce legislation that would give parents the right to decide whether or not their children wear masks at school all over Georgia.
Channel 2′s Richard Elliot was the first Atlanta reporter to speak to the governor about the legislation, which he plans to try to get passed this session. Kemp said he thinks that the districts that are still mandating masks are doing it because of politics, not science.
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“This is gone on too far. Most of our systems are not doing it anymore around the state,” Kemp said. “Everybody says they’re following the data and the science, but they don’t really do that. They’re making political decisions, and quite honestly, parents in just a few districts are so fed up. They’re pulling their hair out.”
Kemp said he would have more details on what the legislation would look like in the next few days.
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It’s unclear if, under the state constitution, the legislature can end mask mandates, or if that is up to the locally elected school boards.
Only a handful of districts still have mask mandates, including Gwinnett and DeKalb County schools and Atlanta Public Schools. Other metro Atlanta districts such as Cobb and Fulton remain mask-optional.
Even with COVID-19 cases declining in Georgia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director said it’s not yet time to change mask recommendations or loosen restrictions. The CDC director said cases are still too high for the agency to consider lifting its safety guidelines.
Brookhaven Democrat Matthew Wilson thinks it’s still way too soon to drop mask mandates.
“Public health officials have been perfectly clear,” Wilson said. “We are not at a point yet where we should be removing mask policies, particularly in our schools.”
Georgia has reported two child COVID-19 deaths in the past 48 hours, including an infant and a 15-year-old boy.
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