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Arizona Schools Tell Students To Mask Up In Defiance Of State Law

06:01
Kindergarten students wear their masks and are separated by plexiglass during a math lesson at the Milton Elementary School, on May 18, 2021, in Rye, N.Y. (Mary Altaffer/AP)
Kindergarten students wear their masks and are separated by plexiglass during a math lesson at the Milton Elementary School, on May 18, 2021, in Rye, N.Y. (Mary Altaffer/AP)

Across the country, schools are implementing mask mandates as COVID-19 cases continue to rise and the U.S. grapples with the highly contagious Delta variant.

But their efforts aren't being met without resistance. A number of governors are banning mask mandates, including in Phoenix, Arizona, where six school districts are defying Gov. Doug Ducey's order.

Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd speaks with Dr. Chad Gestson, superintendent at Phoenix Union High School District, the first district in the state to require masks.

This segment aired on August 6, 2021.

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