LANSING, Mich., Aug. 19, 2021 — Democratic state legislators of the Grand Rapids delegation Reps. Rachel Hood and David LaGrand, along with Sen. Winnie Brinks, sent a letter requesting Dr. Adam London, Kent County administrative health officer, issue a mask mandate for the county’s school systems.
“We’ve heard from public health professionals, parents, teachers, and students alike, all concerned with making sure we are able to stay as safe as possible during the upcoming school year,” Hood said. “We will not let this pandemic win and take away another school year of in-person learning. Kent County always rises to the occasion: I know we can deliver a safe school year for our students, school communities, and healthcare workers who have already sacrificed so much by instituting this simple rule.”
Counties and school districts across the state are rapidly mobilizing to issue mask mandates for school-aged children to protect students, teachers and families from the ravages of the coronavirus and delta variant, as area schools begin opening for the 2021-22 school year.
“Counties around the state have already heeded the advice of public health experts and have instituted this commonsense rule,” Brinks said. “I find it unconscionable that the legislature would withhold funding from county health departments that are tasked with keeping our children and their schools safe.”
A copy of the letter can be found here.