Parents' Notes Will Not Exempt Students From Masks, Murphy Says

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy wants to be very clear to the parents of New Jersey: Parental notes will not exempt children from the latest mask mandate.

And he warned the Middletown school district in Monmouth County, which proposed accepting parents' notes to exempt kids from wearing masks, that he would sue them if they tried that, said an attorney for the district.

"Late last evening I received communication from the governor's office that if the district moved forward with the policy, then the state of New Jersey would immediately sue the district, seeking an injunction," said Middletown's schools attorney Bruce Padula at the board's Tuesday night meeting.

Tucked into his latest executive order issued Monday, Executive Order 253, Murphy added language that reads: "Individuals seeking a medical exemption from mask wearing ... will be required to produce written documentation from a medical professional to support that exemption. Self-attestations and parental attestations are not sufficient."

Last week, the Middletown Board of Education floated this idea of allowing parents or even simply just the students themselves write a letter saying their health was "inhibited" by wearing a mask. No doctor's back-up note was required.

After they were threatened to be sued by the state, the Middletown BOE has now backed off the idea, said Padula.

Board member Frank Capone, who helped write the parental note exemption, said Tuesday night he would "proudly stand behind" what he helped write, and face a legal battle with the Murphy administration, who he called "King Murphy."

"Our legal counsel was informed at 10 p.m. last night that King Murphy does not approve of the parent's right to inform the district of any medical issues pertaining to mask wearing and has now issued executive order 253, to disallow our policy," said Capone. "I would proudly stand behind and ultimately be forced to comply by court order by which has been threatened. Or we can amend the policy. I will stand with this board either way.

"Make no mistake about it: King Murphy believes he should make decisions on your children's health over you, as parents."

"We'll go to court with you, Frank!" shouted one mom from the audience.

"Stand up for us!" shouted some furious Middletown parents, who want masks to be optional.

"This board tried to stand up and what did the governor do? He changed the executive order!," exclaimed Padula.

Also on Monday, the governor said he would "not look kindly" to attempts to work around his K-12 mask mandate.

"I'm aware, including some I notice in my own backyard. I will just say, we will not look kindly upon that and will take the appropriate action in response," warned Murphy on Monday. Murphy himself lives in Middletown.

This Aug. 23 Monmouth University poll found that while there are pockets of deep opposition, 69 percent of New Jersey parents actually back the K-12 mask mandate.

While Middletown has been the most aggressive fighting Murphy's mask mandate, many other NJ school districts are calling for masks to be optional. They are:

Holmdel: Holmdel BOE President Vicky Flynn (also a Republican state Assembly candidate for this area in November) wrote a letter to Murphy, asking him to drop the mandate.

Brick: Brick School Board Again Urges Local Control On Masks In School (Aug. 20)

Toms River: The BOE sent a letter to Murphy urging him to rescind the mask mandate. Republican governor candidate Jack Ciattarelli attended their meeting last week, urging the Toms River BOE to keep fighting.

Wall Twp.: Sent a letter to Murphy asking him to leave it to local school districts.

Woodbridge: Parents will speak at the BOE meeting Wednesday night, asking the district to make masks optional.

Colts Neck: Some parents in Colts Neck are pushing the BOE to pass a resolution similar to Middletown's.

Manasquan: The Manasquan BOE sent a letter to Murphy, asking him to leave mask-wearing decisions up to the local districts.

Barnegat Township: Sent a letter to Murphy asking for school districts to make local decisions.

Wayne: The Wayne BOE said they are petitioning Murphy to make masks optional, but some parents there said they support the mandate.

Previous coverage:

Middletown Schools May Allow A Parent's Note To Exempt Masks (Aug. 20)

Murphy: We 'Will Take Action' Against Parents' Notes On Masks (Aug. 23)

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