LINCOLN, Calif. (KTXL) — Several dozen parents and students at Lincoln made it clear Thursday that they were fed up with the mask mandate.

They gathered outside Glen Edwards Middle School before the start of the school day.

“We shouldn’t have to wear a mask. It should be a choice,” said sixth-grader Nate White.

That’s why White said he and others, like parent Gus Murphy, are against California’s mandate requiring masks for all indoor public schools.

“These kids have decided they feel bad when they wear masks. We’re not asking you to unmask your child,” Murphy said. “We just want to provide choice because that’s one of the concepts most fundamental of the Constitution of the United States of America.”

The California Department of Public Health has long maintained that masks help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Those who gathered on Thursday said it had gone too far and they were worried about what could happen if students entered school without masks.

For its part, the Western Placer Unified School District said it sent letters to Governor Gavin Newsom expressing support for the mask choice.

Superintendent Kerry Callahan told FOX40 the district is following state guidance for students to wear masks when indoors.

The Western Placer Unified School District continues to implement the masking requirement for all indoor public school environments put in place by the State of California. Just as we have seen since the beginning of the pandemic, the directions, recommendations and mandates continue to evolve. Until we see the current restrictions for K-12 schools ease, we are obligated to follow the state’s masking requirement, down to excluding students from campus who continually refuse to wear a mask. inside the campus.

Our goal is not to exclude students from campuses. Our school community wants students to learn in the classroom and in person; and that is precisely what we promise to provide. Knowing that in-person learning is best for students, we will continue to work with our students and their families to find solutions to meet state masking requirements. We hear their concerns and frankly, we understand their desire to return to a school environment as we once knew it.

Western Placer Unified School District Superintendent Kerry Callahan

Meanwhile, parents and students who spoke to FOX40 said their movement had new momentum after the governor was seen taking photos without a mask on his face during Sunday’s NFC Championship game.

“Gavin Newsom has done more for my cause at SoFi Stadium than I could in two months. So thank you, Governor, thank you, if you watch this,” Murphy said. “They’re outraged, they deserve to be outraged. Quite frankly, they’re here to take back their town and the education of the children, and I support them 100 percent.”