Three schools in Vancouver, Washington were put under lockdown on Friday after a group of people protesting COVID mask mandates in schools attempted to come onto one of the campuses in the district.
Skyview High School, Alki Middle School, and Chinook Elementary School were placed into lockdown after the Thursday anti-mask protest as a safety precaution, Skyview High School said in a statement that was shared with parents and obtained by Newsweek.
The protest took place after a parent had a confrontation with the school because her child, a Skyview student, refused to wear a mask, a Skyview High School spokesperson told Newsweek on Friday
"The district and school administrators are working with the parent to work out a solution," the spokesperson said.
The group that gathered outside school were protesting against "Washington state's requirement for staff and students to wear masks or face coverings in schools and on buses."
Despite the lockdown, the school was still able to resume normal operations as district resource officers remained on site to help maintain safety. According to the spokesperson, students at all Vancouver Public Schools districts are complying with the mask mandate.
Skyview High School didn't disclose information about the parent's identity or further details about the parent's confrontation with school officials, but Newsweek will provide updates as soon as they are available.
A number of school districts nationwide imposed a COVID mask mandates among staff and students as the new school year kicked off in August in the midst of a COVID Delta variant surge. But the mandate has been receiving pushback from some parents.
In Florida, police on Monday had to deal with a mask debate that turned physical outside the headquarters of a school district. A video shared by NBC-2 showed the argument between mask supporters and opposers that erupted after the Lee County School District announced a temporary mask mandate.
The video showed individuals shoving one another which prompted police intervention to break up the clash.
The temporary mask mandate went into effect on Wednesday and is expected to last for 30 days.
Lee County is the latest Florida school district to announce a mask mandate after a judge recently ruled against Governor Ron DeSantis' order banning schools from imposing them.
In Texas, some schools are requiring staff and students to wear face masks defying the governor's opposition to mask mandates, including Michael Hinojosa of the Dallas school system, the Associated Press reported in August.
"This Delta variant is different, and the numbers are really significant in the county," he said, according to the AP. "We're going to continue our mask mandate to keep students safe, to keep parents safe, to keep families safe, and most importantly our teachers, who are on those front lines."
