Montgomery County Public Schools parents concerned over 'anti-mask' shaming

Concerns over social media anti-mask bullying

At Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, there’s an Instagram account that appears to be associated with the school. It’s one of multiple social media accounts noted by parents that appear to be shaming students for not wearing masks.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - A number of Montgomery County parents are concerned about social media accounts that appear to shame students over mask-wearing — or in this case, not wearing.

Those parents shared Instagram pages that appear to be associated with different county high schools. The accounts post students' faces simply because that student is not covering their face inside their respective school setting.

One of the accounts, @rmhs_antimaskers, appears to be associated with Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland. That account is private but others such as @springbrook_antimaskers are not.

The page displays photos of students with their masks not covering their mouth, or their nose, or in some cases, their entire face. A comment on one of the posts reads, "Stop tagging me in this sh**."

The photos from @springbrook_antimaskers account and at least one other appear to have been posted in November 2021 when the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) indoor school mask mandate was still in place.

However, one of the other "anti-masker" accounts seen online had two photos posted Thursday, just two days after the indoor school mask mandate was dropped.

This behavior, coupled with some parents and students sharing examples of students yelling at others for not wearing their masks this week, is leading to concerns that shaming and bullying around masks are going on within MCPS.

Montgomery County Board of Education President Brenda Wolf had warned against bullying of those who continue to wear their masks at school, especially after Student Board of Education Member Hana O’Looney faced online attacks for wanting the mask mandate to remain despite updated CDC mask guidance that supported the latter.

Montgomery Co. Board of Education lifts school mask mandate

The Montgomery County Board of Education voted unanimously to lift its mask mandate today in all Montgomery County Public schools, facilities, and buses.

"Students wearing masks and not wearing masks definitely kind of divides the students into two groups and I feel like they’re not being mean to each side but they’re definitely like kind of separate each side a little bit," said Richard Montgomery freshman, Richard Zhu.

A Richard Montgomery parent, Jade Freeman, told FOX 5 she has not heard of any mask bullying incidents but is concerned about it.

"This shouldn’t be politicized and let alone, really hurting our children," Freeman said.

Montgomery County School Board votes unanimously to lift mask mandate in all schools, buses

MCPS Spokesperson Chris Cram could not confirm the authenticity of these accounts. FOX 5 does not know if any students faced discipline for either not wearing a mask when they were supposed to or for posting/creating these Instagram accounts.

In an e-mail to FOX 5 Cram wrote:

"MCPS, as you know, has a thorough and comprehensive response protocol for any claim of bullying or harassment. There is an immediate response to document, investigate, support, and if necessary, discipline when instances of bullying or harassment are reported. Students must feel safe to be able to fully engage in their learning and we've worked diligently to ensure our processes and training are effective.

We encourage students and families to not be silent but to report any instances of bullying or harassment.

Mask wearing in MCPS is now optional and it is new to be together with some of us masked and some choosing to not wear a mask. It is an individual choice and we must respect each others' choice."

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This past Tuesday is when the Montgomery County Board of Education voted to immediately drop the indoor school mask mandate, following updated CDC guidance and changes approved by the Maryland State Board of Education that gave Maryland’s local school boards the authority to decide future mask policy.

Student Board of Education Member, Hana O’Looney, told FOX 5 on Friday, "My personal support for continuing the mask mandate in MCPS before the board's decision on March 9th led to harassment and incivility in public discourse in recent weeks, however, I hope that as we move forward with loosened public health guidelines as a county, state, and nation, the students and staff of MCPS can model civility and respect as we begin to heal as a community. The students of MCPS are resilient, intelligent, and inclusive, and I know each one of us will make the best personal choice when it comes to wearing a mask while respecting the decision of others who may come to a different conclusion."

MCPS' report on bullying, harassment, or intimidation can be found here.