Such policies may change if Covid-19 case rates rise or fall, but not everyone in the district may accept the changes, Cruz said.
“If there is a surge, we may mandate masks, but I would have to say that it will be very difficult to meet the mask mandate,” said Cruz, whose school district will start school in early September. .
Many of America’s largest school systems start school in August, including Los Angeles Unified, the City of Chicago, Miami-Dade County, and Clark County, Nevada.
“Work to live with this virus”
In some communities, such as New York State, classes aren’t scheduled to start until early September, and school officials are waiting for updates from local health departments on Covid-19 mitigation measures to implement for the next school year. Many school districts continue to disinfect surfaces and consider upgrading ventilation systems.
“Many schools will continue with some mitigation strategies this fall, such as cleaning and sanitizing and upgrading HVAC systems,” said Randall W. Squire, principal of New York’s Coxsackie-Athens Central School District. Masks will be optional,” he wrote. in an email to CNN on Tuesday.
“Schools are still agonizing over whether to offer distance learning options to students. If COVID-19 cases spike, they will follow recommendations and directives from state health departments,” he said. I am writing.
Regarding masking, “In the absence of specific state mask mandates, most regulators will work with county health departments to establish optional mask-wearing guidelines,” Squier wrote. Officials are seeking to establish a regional approach to pandemic guidelines to avoid confusion among family members and employees who may work and live in neighboring counties.”
Squire said staff in the area have calmed down after noticing heightened tensions over masks among parents as most schools have made masks voluntary.
“Since New York State lifted mask mandates in March, there has been no school district movement to reintroduce mask mandates,” he wrote. The political rhetoric at the conference has subsided.”
Daniel Bittman, principal of Minnesota’s 728th Independent School District, said community tensions over masking had “dissolved.”
Masks are optional in the district of Bitman, where the new school year begins after Labor Day, but are recommended for students in the five counties.
“We don’t need masks in this particular grade,” Bittman said.
“Masks in our particular districts are always recommended, especially if cases are added at a point that is considered critical. he said. “So we are working closely with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health to monitor it, so it is not necessary at this time.”
Bittman added that masks might be required in certain schools or classrooms if cases spike, but not across school districts.
In many districts, superintendents and school boards are in constant consultation with local health departments to develop Covid-19 mitigation measures and policies, Cruz of the Association of School Superintendents said. and other infections in the future.
“We are definitely working hand in hand. Schools and governments are serious about coexisting with this virus and finding ways to keep schools open to students,” Cruz said. rice field. “I think we are now in a place where we are learning and working to live with it.”
