Massachusetts K-12 (@MASchoolsK12) tweeted Fri, Aug 20, 2021:
Press release hared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/MASchoolsK12/status/1428737492627468290?s=03
PRESS RELEASE Education Commissioner to Ask Board for Authority to Mandate Masks in Public Schools to Provide Time to Increase Vaccinations - https://t.co/CLO6N5sTXC #MaEdu #COVID19MA @MassEducation
"Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley will ask the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to grant him authority to mandate masks for all public K-12 students, educators, and staff through October 1 to ensure schools fully reopen safely and to provide time for more students and educators to get vaccinated. After October 1, the commissioner’s policy would allow middle and high schools to lift the mask mandate for vaccinated students and staff only if the school meets a certain vaccination rate – at least 80 percent of students and staff in a school building are vaccinated. Unvaccinated students and staff would still be required to wear masks.The mandate would include exceptions for students who cannot wear a mask due to medical conditions or behavioral needs.The Commissioner will revisit the mandate in the near future to revise it as warranted by public health data. The purpose of the policy is to encourage higher vaccination rates among students and staff and to implement a uniform policy for all schools to begin the year."
Continue reading the full press release: https://t.co/CLO6N5sTXC
Assuming the proposal does come to reality, the Franklin School Committee will remove from its agenda its own policy update as 'not needed'
CommonWealth Magazine coverage -> https://commonwealthmagazine.org/health/in-another-shift-baker-mandates-masks-in-schools/
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| State education commissioner Jeff Riley. (Photo by Llyr Johansen) |
