NAMPA, Idaho — People are wearing face masks with all sorts of colors and designs, but what can and can't students wear when it comes to face coverings at schools? One Nampa parent is asking that after she says a school administrator told her daughter that she had to remove her mask because it was gang-related.
The mask was red with white polka dots.
“She was told the minute she walked into school that it was gang-related and to remove it immediately,” said Columbia High School parent, Amanda Weast.
She says, her daughter, Nevaeh Mitchell, was embarrassed when she was told to remove her mask on the first day of school. Then given a plain, white mask.
“It made me feel bad because it was my first day and I didn’t know what was going on,” Navaeh said.
Her mom added the white mask given to her daughter resembled Hanes-type of underwear.
“We need to know as parents what's right and what's wrong for our kids to wear,” Weast said.
In a statement, the Nampa School District said a security aide approached the student and asked her to change her mask and that was in response to recent gang training for staff and a request to be vigilant in watching for gang activity.
The district added that they have a video showing the encounter and it was that security aide who made the request, not a school administrator.
But what is the dress code when it comes to face coverings for school districts in the area? Are they the same as dress codes when it comes to clothing?
“Masks would have to be appropriate,” West Ada spokesperson Char Jackson said.
She said students are free to wear masks that express their personal style, as long as they don't contain bad language.
But what about political masks?
“As long as it's appropriate for school and not detracting from the education process then that's fine, we're not telling them they can't wear something that political,” Jackson said.
In both the Kuna and Caldwell school districts, spokesperson Allison Westfall told KTVB that political masks aren't disallowed but they do have to be appropriate for school. Which means, no profanities or vulgar images and still follow the guidelines of the overall district dress code.
The Boise School District does not allow political masks unless given prior approval. Its mask policy also must follow its dress code policy, which says students are not to wear items of apparel that depict or allude to references to: drugs, gangs; violence; or indecent or offensive material.
The Nampa School District has a similar dress code policy in place.
As for Weast, she wants to see someone take accountability for what happened so another child doesn't feel embarrassed.
“We're in the middle of a pandemic I don’t think anyone should be putting anything on my daughter's face without notifying me,” Weast said.
The Nampa School District told KTVB to be deemed "gang-related," clothing would need to have numerous items in gang colors, combined with other gang-related accessories, or be associated with documented gang-affiliated students. Just wearing red or blue would not fall under gang attire. Bandannas and masks that look like bandannas are also banned.
Meantime, KTVB asked if Nevaeh is now free to wear her polka dot mask to school, and a spokesperson for the district said “yes.”