No Cloth Masks Allowed In LA Schools; Virginia In Chaos Over New Mask Rules

Los Angeles Times: LAUSD Students Must Wear Non-Cloth Masks Starting Monday 
Students in Los Angeles Unified School District will now be prohibited from wearing cloth masks, according to an announcement distributed Saturday by the district. Starting Monday, students must wear “well-fitted, non-cloth masks with a nose wire” at all times, including outdoors. District officials said surgical masks or higher-grade masks were acceptable, and that such masks would be available to students upon request. (Hamilton, 1/22)

In news from Virginia and the D.C. region —

The Washington Post: Glenn Youngkin’s Masking Order Plunges Virginia Schools Into Utter Chaos 
A level of statewide chaos unprecedented in recent memory is looming for Virginia schools, as a new Republican governor prepares to enforce a mask-optional mandate on Monday that many superintendents and parents have vowed to fight, or to uphold, with all the ammunition they can muster. (Natanson, 1/23)

CBS News: Virginia Parent Charged After She Threatens To "Bring Every Single Gun Loaded" Over School's Mask Dispute
A Virginia mother was charged Friday after she said at a school board meeting that she would "bring every single gun loaded and ready" to fight mask requirements for her children. Amelia King later emailed the board to apologize for her choice of words, saying she was not referring to "actual firearms."  (Powell, 1/21)

The Washington Post: Across The Region’s Schools, A Wildly Varied Treatment Of Masks 
Hannah Donart, a mother of two in Maryland, was glad her school system, in Montgomery County, planned to hand out KN95 masks for students and staff — but then frustrated by what her 7- and 10-year-olds brought home: a mask in a plastic sandwich bag, with no label or packaging. “I can’t trust them blindly, not with my children’s health,” said Donart, not wanting to chance that the items were less effective than what she already had. (St. George, Natanson and Asbury, 1/22)

In other school news from across the U.S. —

CNN: New Mexico's Governor Signs Up To Be Volunteer Substitute Teacher Amid Staffing Shortage
Faced with a dire staffing shortage in schools, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has taken drastic measures. The Democratic governor launched an initiative Wednesday asking state workers and National Guard members to become licensed volunteer substitute K-12 teachers and child care workers. Lujan Grisham has completed the registration to become licensed as a substitute teacher, her press secretary Nora Sackett confirmed to CNN. (Stracqualursi and Watson, 1/23)

Health News Florida: Judge Gives Go-Ahead To Revamped Mask Case For Disabled Children 
Despite objections from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, a federal judge has allowed parents and children with disabilities to pursue a revamped lawsuit challenging state decisions that included banning student mask mandates in public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore on Wednesday issued an order that allowed attorneys for the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint contending that the state is violating federal laws designed to protect the rights of people with disabilities. The plaintiffs contend that children with disabilities are more at risk for serious illness and death from COVID-19 and need protections against infection. They argue that the state is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and a federal law known as the Rehabilitation Act. (Saunders, 1/21)

The Wall Street Journal: Schools May Be Open—But They’re Struggling 
Schools should be open, pandemic or not, much of the public says. If only they all had what they need to function. Students at New York City’s elite Brooklyn Technical High School played Hangman in psychology class recently while a substitute sat behind the teacher’s desk. They were eager to prepare for a coming midterm exam, the students said, but their usual instructor was out sick again. “Everybody’s kind of freaking out,” said Delia Marcus, 17. “We haven’t really learned anything.” (Chapman and Calvert, 1/23)

The 19th: When Kids Under 5 Get COVID-19, Parents Are Screwed
Catherine Dicicco and her husband both got vaccinated, then boosted. They wore masks and limited social activities to outside, with a small circle of friends. Dicicco, an occupational therapist in Tennessee, just wanted to keep her infant twins from getting COVID-19. But on January 5, the twins’ first birthday, both boys tested positive for the virus. Soon the whole family fell ill. And while for Dicicco and her husband the virus was like a bad cold or a mild flu, shortly after the positive test one of her sons ended up in the hospital for two days. “I literally hear his every breath. And he couldn’t get air through, it was so swollen,” she recalled. “I tried to give him a bottle, and it was a disaster.” (Luthra, 1/22)

In related news about children's mental health —

Billings Gazette: Billings Elementary Schools Receive $500,000 Annually For Mental Health Efforts
K-8 public schools in Billings are undergoing mental health training with around $500,000 annually going to the district from 2020 to 2025. “The kids that are coming in just don’t have the social skills,” said Katie Tatum, school counselor at Poly Drive. “We’re spending so much more time on behaviors than we ever have just to do our jobs.” This isn’t unique from other parts of the state or the country, administrators say. The exact reason is difficult to pinpoint, but changes in families over time and social consequences from the pandemic have contributed and escalated to the point that behavior issues need to be addressed. (Ackerman, 1/23)

Axios: Goldie Hawn Launches Online Tool For Kids' Mental Health 
The widespread toll on children's mental health is one of the most potentially harmful impacts the pandemic has had, actress Goldie Hawn told Axios in an interview. "We are dealing with a global epidemic of mental illness," Hawn said. Nearly 20 years after founding MindUP for Life, an organization that has provided tools to help schools teach millions of kids about brain health, Hawn announced this week the organization expanded onto a digital platform. (Reed, 1/21)