The Smile Project

Parents, 

In July 2020 BESE (Board of Elementary & Secondary Education) was tasked with the responsibility of establishing guidelines for the Strong Start reopening of schools. Since then, our children have been test subjects in a massive medical experiment. 

Safety studies have never been conducted on the short or long term effects from use of masks by children. None. We know because we asked for them through a public records request of both the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). We also addressed concerns about the safety of long term mask use by children to the Louisiana Department of Education and BESE – prior to the vote to establish Strong Start guidelines. The CDC and AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) have made recommendations for children to wear masks all day, without any scientific basis or safety studies. 

That means we are acting under a grand delusion that what we are asking of children in school – learning, concentrating, studying – is effectively possible while their breathing is obstructed. We have also been deluded to believe that this is not physically or mentally harmful to them, in the short or long term. 

No safety studies have ever been done. 

Yet studies documenting health risks and harm from mask wearing have been done and rates of self harm, overdose, and anxiety in children/teens have increased more than 100% since the mask mandate was put in place.

The decision to mask kids should never be one made by the state. An overriding ethic in LA Children’s Code is that

“parents should make the decisions regarding where and with whom the child shall reside, the educational. . .the medical. . .and preventive health care of the child…”  

Parents make that decision, not the State.

An overriding ethic of The Nuremberg Code is that the voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. Will you continue to allow this violation of the most basic human right?

Human rights are essential. Parental rights are essential. 

Now researchers are raising concerns about the long term effect of inhaling nanoparticles from masks in a study titled Need for assessing the inhalation of micro(nano)plastic debris shed from masks, respirators, and home-made face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

How safe are the Strong Start guidelines if we now have to worry about possible lung damage from nanoparticles from long term mask use required to attend school? This has the potential to turn into something like the asbestos debacle.  And remember, according to Act 9, liability is NOT waived for schools when “such action or inaction is determined to be grossly negligent or wanton or reckless misconduct.” Mandating a medical intervention without evaluating the safety of that intervention is grossly negligent and BESE was made aware of safety concerns before establishing these new guidelines. 

Schools must remove the mask mandate immediately and make parents aware of the possible harm from inhaling nanoparticles from masks. Strong Start guidelines lack a crucial element: safety.  

Masks must be a choice, a decision left to parents. 

Parents have a sacred right to protect their children, not their “neighbor.” When it is more and more evident that the guidelines are subjective and not based on sound science—two masks seem to work better than one, three feet should work instead of six, etc.—it is well past time to regain control of what should have never been taken from us—our parental right to choose which medical interventions are best for our children. 

It is time to see the smiles on our kids’ faces again. Masks must be a parent’s decision, not the state’s or any other entity’s.

Please join The Smile Project – a grassroots effort to get the masks off our children, because #SmilesAreEssential. We have laid the groundwork and provided tools for you to use to connect with your legislators and representatives below. Make it clear to them sure that all medical decisions regarding minors belong to the parent, not LDH, BESE, the State or the CDC. Under their guidance, our children have suffered and are experiencing a mental health crisis like we’ve never seen before.  

It’s been a year, enough is enough.

So what can you do?

Join us in this crucial effort by taking these FIVE SIMPLE ACTIONS:

STEP 1: Send a message to your State Legislators telling them to end the mask mandate. This is as easy as ONE CLICK, really! Simply enter your information in our One Click Politics campaign here and they will be informed of our published Action Plan to help schools transition back to a healthy normal, without masks.

STEP 2: Download our Open Letter to BESE, School Board Members, and Superintendents and email it to your local board members and superintendents today! You can find BESE members’ contact information here and your school board members’ information here. When contacting these individuals, please share how masks have affected your children, their education, and their health.

STEP 3: Email the governor here. Tell him to remove the mask mandate and let people evaluate the risk and choose for themselves. Parents are legally responsible for their minor children and as such, they should make the decision, not the state.

STEP 4: Sign our petition here to support getting the masks off our children and putting the decision to wear one into parents’ hands. Your information will never be shared.

STEP 5: #ShowYourSmile and spread awareness of the importance of parental rights, the dangers of masking children, and this campaign to end it.
😀 Be sure to use the hashtags #SmilesAreEssential and #ShowYourSmile everywhere on social media!
😀 Once you email your legislators and school representatives, announce it on their social media accounts. Put on the pressure!
😀 Purchase one of our Smile Project tshirts through our online shop! All funds go directly to maintaining this website, printing flyers, signs, and other documents for legislators and the public, educational events, and more. If not interested in a tshirt but would like to make a donation, that’s great too! You can donate here. We are a grassroots organization completely run by volunteers so if you find value in our work we’d appreciate it immensely!

Children learn to smile from their parents.

Shinichi Suzuki

So parents, take a stand and show your children that they can smile again.

An ENORMOUS thanks to Emily Burns, founder of The Smile Project for letting us use her action plan!