Schools
MCPS Teacher Placed On Leave For Refusing To Wear A Mask
Angela Harders, a special-education teacher at a high school in MOCO, said she was asked to leave school for not wearing a mask.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — A special education teacher at a Burtonsville high school said she was asked to leave school for refusing to wear a mask.
"Today was the first day of school for teachers ... and quite possibly the last day of school for this teacher," Angela Harders wrote on her Facebook page on Aug. 23.
On Aug. 25, she posted a video showing her being escorted out of Paint Branch High School.
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“I have just been placed on administrative leave, and I am leaving the building, followed by all these security guards,” she says in the video.
The Washington Post first reported this story, and confirmed with district spokesperson Gboyinde Onijala that a teacher had been placed on administrative leave, though Onijala did not say which teacher due to privacy policies. Harders wrote on Facebook she was refusing to wear a mask because of her disabilities and religious beliefs.
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Harders said on Facebook she was given accommodations last year, which included wearing a face shield when entering the building, and keeping a distance from students. She said she didn't think she would need to make another request this year.
In a letter from the school's principal that Harders posted to Facebook, the leave is set at one day. It says her leave is due to her refusal to wear a mask as she had been told she would have to, and called her conduct inappropriate and unprofessional.
Montgomery County Public Schools made the decision in July to require masks for all students and teachers, regardless of vaccination status. They aren't alone — Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County and Prince George's County all have similar mandates.
Montgomery County Schools are set to reopen for students on Monday.
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