Gov. Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor released statements on Thursday, saying that Hulbert Public Schools openly violated a state law after the school board voted to pass a mask mandate for students and staff. In an announcement posted to the school district’s website, officials said the Hulbert Board of Education voted to require masks for students and staff at school starting Thursday, due to increasing cases of COVID-19 in the school district.District officials said students may opt out of the mask requirement for medical reasons. The district will also provide a virtual learning option for students who wish to opt out of the mask requirement. According to the announcement, since school started on Aug. 12, seven people have tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in more than 154 people being placed in quarantine. As a result, officials said all middle school and high school students have moved to distance learning. Related Video Above: Oklahoma health experts anticipate COVID-19 outbreaks in schools, possible closures“By wearing masks in the classroom, we can better protect the health of our students and significantly reduce the number of students who need to quarantine when there is a positive case,” officials said in the statement. Stitt and O’Connor both issued statements on Thursday in response to this announcement. “It is disappointing that one school district has chosen to openly violate a state law that was supported by 80 percent of the Legislature. The goal of SB 658 was to ensure every student in Oklahoma could go to school in person and parents retained the fundamental right to make health care decisions for their children. To be clear, no parent is banned from sending their child to school with a mask and no school may mandate masks or vaccines. I will always stand up for parents’ right to decide what is best for their child,” Stitt said in the news release. The law went into effect on July 1, preventing public schools from requiring masks, COVID-19 vaccine or a “vaccine passport” unless the governor declares a state of emergency. Stitt had previously said that he does not plan to issue another emergency related to COVID-19. “We are vigorously defending SB 658 in court because it is plainly constitutional and helps protect the choices of students and parents. Under the new law, public school boards cannot implement a mask mandate, unless certain conditions are met, including that the school district be in an area under a current state of emergency declared by the Governor. Under our constitution, the Legislature gets to set the policy of the state—especially on controversial issues like this—and schools should not be actively trying to undermine our constitutional structure of government by violating duly-enacted state law,” O’Connor said in the news release. Oklahoma City Public Schools District’s Superintendent Dr. Sean McDaniel had previously made the announcement that masks will be required at OKCPS campuses, but students have the option to opt out for religious, health or strong personal reasons. McDaniel said this requirement does not break state law because Senate Bill 658 only prevents school boards from acting. He said he made the decision alone as superintendent."While Senate Bill 658 prohibits school boards from mandating the wearing of masks, the law does not prohibit the Superintendent and district administration from requiring the wearing of masks by our students, staff, and visitors," McDaniel said in the statement.The bill’s author argued there is no such loophole in the law. State Rep. Monroe Nichols, D-Tulsa, released the following response to Stitt’s statement: “The Governor has a platform to reach Oklahomans across the state. Instead of using it to plead with Oklahomans to get vaccinated, he has instead chosen to ‘slam’ a duly elected school board for taking action to protect their students and staff in the face of a deadly virus that has already claimed the lives of more than 7,600 Oklahomans. It’s time for the Governor to grow up and start leading this state through this pandemic or get out of the way. “The greatest asset COVID has in Oklahoma is not misinformation, it’s Governor Kevin Stitt. Every week that passes where he refuses to use his platform to encourage vaccines and mask-wearing is a week we fall further behind where we could be in our fight against COVID. Oklahomans should take notice that at a time like this, their Governor did not choose to stand with schools, medical professionals, and families. He chose to risk lives because he lacked the courage to do what was right.”