Hollywood stars chose to go maskless for the 94th annual Academy Awards on Sunday even as local preschoolers enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District are still being forced to wear masks while indoors.
Academy rules don’t require attendees to wear masks to this year’s ceremony, even though they are encouraged to do so. The decision comes after Los Angeles County relaxed its indoor mask mandate for businesses last month, allowing people to go maskless in restaurants, gyms, and other establishments if they show proof of vaccination.
But toddlers enrolled in LAUSD’s Early Education Centers are still required to wear masks indoors under rules negotiated by the union representing the district’s teachers, UTLA.
LAUSD elaborated on its website that “indoor masking will continue to be required for students, employees and visitors at Early Education Centers (EECs), Early Education Center Preschool Collaborative Classes (EEC/PCCs), California State Preschool Programs (CSPP), Infant Centers (ICs) and early childhood special education programs.”
Some parents are upset that their young children are still being forced to mask up and are holding the teachers union responsible.
On Friday, the Academy reportedly tightened its COVID-19 guidelines in response to the latest COVID variant. The updated rules prohibit the attendance of anyone who has tested positive for the virus within the last five days.
The Academy has come under fire for its vaccination policy, which requires all Oscars ticketholders to be vaccinated but mysteriously leaves out presenters and performers. Initially, the Academy dropped all vaccination requirements but backtracked following negative media coverage.
Paul Bois contributed to this article.
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