Ohio School Board Drops Mask Mandate Weeks After Kicking Senate Candidate Josh Mandel Out of Meeting

An Ohio school district that started the school year enforcing a mask mandate has now reversed course on forcing students to cover their faces. The move comes just two weeks after the board kicked former Ohio Treasurer and candidate for U.S. Senate Josh Mandel out of a board meeting after he spoke out against mask mandates, Critical Race Theory, and leftist gender ideology, despite the fact he was invited to speak by concerned parents. Responding to the board’s reversal of its mask mandate, Mandel told Breitbart News: “We the people will not be intimidated by out-of-touch school bureaucrats or power-hungry politicians.”

Lakota Local School District in Cincinnati, Ohio, is dropping its mask mandate for K-12 students and staff, regardless of their vaccination status, starting on Monday, according to a report by WLWT 5.

A couple weeks ago the Lakota School Board kicked me out of their meeting for backing parents and speaking out against mask mandates.

Today the board dropped their mask mandates.

Power to the PEOPLE! https://t.co/e1vSDgrlVd

— Josh Mandel (@JoshMandelOhio) October 30, 2021

While the school district says masks are still strongly recommended, a mandate will not be enforced. Bizarrely, masks will still be required for young children attending preschool, as well as for students traveling on school buses.

“As we have done since the start of the pandemic, in addition to reviewing the guidance from ODH, we consulted with local medical experts before making this decision,” Lakota Local Schools reportedly wrote in a letter to families.

“We have not received any feedback from the Butler County General Health District that opposes these new protocols,” the school district added.

School officials also noted that if they see a spike in positive cases of coronavirus, they may choose to reinstate the mask mandate at any time.

A few weeks ago, Mandel was escorted out of a Lakota School Board meeting after speaking out against mask mandates, Critical Race Theory, and gender ideology being pushed in schools.

“You are using kids as pawns in a political game,” the Senate candidate said to school board members at the time. “Here in the Lakota district and throughout the state of Ohio, children should not be forced to wear masks.”

On Sunday, Mandel reacted to Lakota Local School dropping its mask mandate, telling Breitbart News that “We the people will not be intimidated by out-of-touch school bureaucrats or power-hungry politicians.”

“As a Martine vet, father, and taxpayer, I will not back down from fighting for our freedom, liberty, and parental rights,” Mandel added.

Last month, General Michael Flynn announced his endorsement of Mandel for U.S. Senate, stating that the candidate — who is also a Marine Corps veteran — is “the only true consistent pro-Trump Conservative in the race for U.S. Senate in Ohio,” who “isn’t afraid to take on the deep state and stop the left’s cultural indoctrination of America with Critical Race Theory and ‘woke’ cancel culture.”

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

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