State Officials Raid Preschool Over Mask Mandate, Interview 2-Year-Olds Without Parents' Consent

California state officials conducted a raid in a San Diego preschool over mask mandate where children as young as two were interviewed privately.

Parents of the children at Aspen Leaf Preschool were furious as the kids were questioned with no supervision and without their consent, school officials said.

California Department of Social Services (CDSS) raided three of the preschool's facilities in January after they received complaints about the school not enforcing the state’s mask mandate. After the raid and interviews with the children and staff, CDSS issued a Type A citation and confirmed that the preschool has failed to ensure mask mandate, as reported by NY Post.

Meanwhile, the school officials said they were open about their mask policy and opted not to enforce the use of masks as the children spent much of their time sleeping and eating when masks cannot be used, and wearing one in between those times was pointless.

The preschool's owner, Howard Wu accused CDSS of conducting "unnecessary and inappropriate interviews" where the children were separated from their teachers.

"Every family we heard from after the inspections were furious about the interviews," Wu told Fox News Digital. In his official complaint to the agency, Wu included statements from the parents who were outraged by the incident.

Wu also argued that since the mask mandate was instituted by the California Department of Public Health, CDSS does not have the authority to enforce it.

The investigation that involved "simultaneous multi-school raids and the child interviews just felt like a power play," Wu said in his complaint to the agency, alleging that the school was unfairly targeted because he challenged the CDSS’ authority.

In response to the school's complaint, CDSS said they are authorized to "enter and inspect a licensed child care facility at any time, with or without advance notice, to secure compliance with, or prevent a violation" of state laws. They also said they have authority to "interview children without prior consent and, when necessary, conduct the interviews in private."

Meanwhile, Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) told Fox Digital their investigation had confirmed the interviews with the children were conducted while the preschool staff was either present or within line of sight. "CCLD has determined that the interviews were conducted appropriately and were a necessary component of the required complaint investigation," the agency said in a written response to parents.

After the citation, Aspen Leaf updated their new mask policy on their website making masks compulsory for all children above 2 until the state’s mandate ends on March 11.