One chilly January morning, Sacramento County student Kinsey decided to walk into school without a face mask. She would later say the simple act took “all the courage [she] had” in the face of the state’s indoor mask mandate for schools.
Kinsey, a high school junior at Bella Vista High School, said she used to love school, but has experienced growing feelings of isolation and anxiety due to the masks, as well as growing feelings of frustration toward state and school officials who insist on the mandate despite reports that children have the lowest rates of COVID-19 transmission.
