CARLSBAD, Calif. (KGTV) — Parents upset with COVID-19 mandates staged protests and rallies across the state Monday.
School leaders with Carlsbad Unified arrived at the district offices Monday morning to find dozens of pairs of children's shoes.
Parisa Fishback helped start Moms on the Ground. The group of more than 26,000 moms are fighting California Governor Newsom's school vaccine mandates for children.
"The idea was to show the school districts as well as the government that we are in soon to be the millions of parents that will exit the public-private school system should this mandate be enforced, and the shoes and the letters were symbolic of that," said Fishback.
Shoes were left outside district offices from San Diego to Sacramento.
"I think historically shoes have always been symbolic as a sense of loss or something that bears a lot of gravity in people's hearts," said Fishback.
Fishback said she isn't against vaccines, but she is against mandates.
"There's no longer a public health safety argument to promote the vaccine, now it has become a personal medical decision, if it's not preventing transmission of the virus, there is no reason to impose it on the public and definitely not to enforce by reason of a mandate on children," said Fishback.
Parents and supporters of the group "Let them Choose" and "Let them Breathe" held a sit-out Monday morning at Balboa Park.
"Right now, the vaccine is readily available to everyone. We know our kids are resilient to this virus. We know we're going to have to live with this virus long-term and navigate it. The emergency order must end," said founder Sharon McKeeman.
Friday, a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by "Let Them Breathe" against state leaders over mask mandates in schools as well as guidelines that call for testing and quarantines.
RELATED: San Diego judge dismisses lawsuit challenging state's school mask mandate
"It was dismissed because the governor has a lawless, emergency order in effect, apparently infinitely," said McKeeman.
The group, "Let them Choose" is suing San Diego Unified over vaccine mandates for children.
Doctors with the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children get the COVID-19 vaccine.
