The Covid-19 pandemic has forced millions of students around the world to learn through online classes. Studying online suddenly doesn’t sound too bad for one Colorado Spring student who was forced to have her mask taped to her face.

The teenage girl, a student at Academy School District 20, said that she was forced to tape her mask to her face while at school. According to the student’s mother, the incident occurred because the student’s face mask kept falling off while she was in class.

The school district explained that it started getting reports about this happening at Chinook Trail Middle School in mid-October. It’s still unclear what happened leading up to the mask taping incident.

Alison Cortez, chief communications officer for District 20, advised others not to speculate on the matter. “Because of social media, we now have so many other voices in the mix that may not have been involved and so now there’s misinformation that’s mingled in with actual facts,” warned Cortez.

According to reports, similar incidents are taking place with other students in Colorado Springs. After finding out about the incident, concerned parents are now demanding answers.

It is believed that teachers are forcing middle school students to tape their masks to their faces. Over 100 students and members of staff are being interviewed for the investigation.

Parent Stephanie M. first posted on social media a picture of her sixth-grade daughter from Chinook Trail Middle School with a mask taped to her face. She asked on her post if other parents knew about a “policy” of taped masks. The mother also wanted to know if other students have experienced the same thing.

Her daughter said that teachers have been enforcing the taped masks policy for weeks.

Parent Tori Skeldum added that her daughter said teachers were carrying the masking tape around their wrists like bracelets. When teachers saw someone’s mask fall down, they would tape the mask to the student’s face.

While Academy School District 20 enforced a mask mandate since September 27th because a lot of students were forced to quarantine, parents said that the district is going too far by taping masks to children’s faces. The district said an email was sent out to parents about the situation.

Cortez said that there were rumours that the students taped the masks to their faces on their own. Due to many versions of the story, Cortez emphasised the need to talk to all students and find out the truth.

The principal of Chinook Trail Middle School requested a meeting with Stephanie and her daughter to discuss what happened. However, Stephanie declined the invitation.

Stephanie is now seeking advice from an attorney while her daughter will attend school online until the investigation is complete. Officials have asked the public for patience while they’re investigating the incident.