FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) – Kentucky public school districts and universities could no longer require everyone to wear masks indoors under a bill passed Tuesday by the House Education Committee.
House Bill 51, sponsored by Rep. Lynn Bechler, passed on a 12-7 vote, with some Republicans joining Democrats in opposition.
The measure prohibits the state’s postsecondary institutions from requiring indoor facial coverings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and allows families of students in public schools to opt out of districts' mask mandates. HB 51 also protects child care centers from fines and other penalties for refusing to require masks and gives parents the right to refuse facial coverings for their children without retribution.
Masking policies vary at Kentucky's public school districts.
Some, including Jefferson County Public Schools, require masks inside schools for students, staff and visitors. Masks could still be required at health care facilities operated by postsecondary institutions if required by a state licensing board before Jan. 1, 2020, or if facial coverings protect the integrity of clinical research, according to the bill.
Bechler, R-Marion, linked face coverings to a litany of issues like rising youth suicide rates, problems with phonetic learning and acne breakouts. He also pointed to states like New Jersey and Oregon that are lifting school mask mandates.
"There have been studies that show that masks don't work in lessening the spread of COVID," Bechler said Tuesday during testimony. "Even our own university of Louisville has reported that."
Numerous studies, including one conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this month, have found that while masks are not 100 percent effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19, their use reduces risk of infection.
A research article co-authored by a former assistant professor at UofL questioned the effectiveness of mask mandates and use on the spread of COVID-19 and found them to be "poor predictors" of coronavirus spread.
UofL published a critical review of the research article from eight people connected with the school or Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, including the university's associate dean in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences.
"We found this article poorly structured with a sketchy and biased description of the background and a seriously flawed methodology, and improper analysis hence a wrong conclusion with vital consequences," the review says.
Rob Weber, communications and policy director for the Kentucky Academy of Science, urged representatives on the House Education Committee to vote against HB 51.
"Prohibiting the ability to require masks would remove one of the layered preventive strategies that helps keep kids in school and learning, and we're also concerned about the the possibility of even more educators leaving the profession if they feel they're at greater risk for COVID-19," Weber said.
Some lawmakers worried about HB 51's impact on local decision-making.
Rep. Killian Timoney, R-Lexington, voted against the measure and said evidence of harm caused by wearing masks was "anecdotal."
"What's not anecdotal was (nontraditional instruction) being a detriment, so that's why I'm a no vote today, to keep local control and to make sure that we're keeping kids in-person," he said.
Bechler, however, said his bill would allow parents to decide whether their children should wear masks in school.
"I don't know of anything that is more local than a parent making the decision whether or not their child should have to wear a mask," he said.
HB 51 moves to the House floor for further consideration.
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