Lee County School District requires masks for students, parents can opt their kids out<\/p>\n
Just two days out from the first day of school and the Lee County School District has updated its mask policy.<\/p>\n
LCSD officials sent an email to parents with an updated face mask policy. Face coverings are required for students unless a parent ops their student out of the requirement, citing the Parents\u2019 Bill of Rights to \u201cprotect parents\u2019 right to make decisions regarding masking of their children in relation to COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n
The district will send out a form to parents tomorrow night that will let them opt their student out of the mask requirement.<\/p>\n
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When students in California<\/strong> and Illinois<\/strong> head back to school<\/strong> in a few weeks, they will have to wear masks<\/strong>. Florida and Arizona<\/strong>, meanwhile, banned mask requirements in schools. Some, but not all, districts there are insisting on them anyway.<\/p>\n Local school<\/strong> leaders in Georgia can make their own choices about masking, and policies differ from one district to the next.<\/p>\n School officials in Gwinnett County, outside Atlanta, imposed a mask mandate eight days before the new school year started last month\u2014a sudden reversal that caught some parents off-guard.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has created quite a bit of chaos within a lot of families,\u201d said Gwinnett County parent Michael Rudnick, who formed a group fighting the mandate.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Schools are reopening just as the rise of the more contagious Delta variant shifts the fight against Covid-19<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance in July recommending that students and faculty wear masks in school buildings. But the federal government doesn\u2019t require it, leaving the ultimate decisions to states, cities and individual school districts.<\/p>\n Many places are re-evaluating their Covid-19 policies after the CDC\u2019s new guidance. In Arkansas, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he regretted a mask ban he signed into law and called for a special legislative session to reverse it before school starts.<\/p>\n Brandon Ealy and his daughters Reese, 7, in pink, and Rhyan, 10, in front of their home in Duluth, Georgia. Mr. Ealy supports his school district\u2019s mask mandate. Some 56 million students are coming back after last year\u2019s disruptions hurt their academic performance, mental health and social development. Some districts are still raw from battles with parents and teachers\u2019 unions. Many are craving normality, yet without risking outbreaks, shutdowns and quarantines.<\/p>\n \u201cI need for the schools to be open five days a week,\u201d Trent North, superintendent of a 26,000-student district west of Atlanta, said at a recent school board meeting. \u201cI don\u2019t want to have to close a school. But more importantly, I don\u2019t want to lose a student under my watch.\u201d<\/p>\n His school board decided to reimpose a mask mandate two days before students returned to school on Aug. 4 after a surge of cases in the area. The decision divided parents.<\/p>\n Mr. North said he understood masks were not popular with many students and parents. He said he hoped the measure would be temporary, with the goal of getting rid of masks permanently. The school system allows mask breaks for in-person students during the day and offers an online learning option.<\/p>\n Schools and parents pressing for mandates say the rise of Delta makes masks necessary to help prevent outbreaks at school and help keep children safe, especially those under 12 who are not yet eligible for vaccines. Those opposed to mask mandates say parents have the right to decide for their own children what is best, and that masks inhibit social engagement. They cite studies showing Covid-19 hasn\u2019t impacted children severely. The Phoenix Union High School District in Arizona defied a statewide ban on mask mandates when it started classes last week. The district\u2019s superintendent said he would enforce the mandate as long as it is recommended by health agencies.<\/p>\n In California, the Orange County Board of Education said it plans a lawsuit to free itself from the statewide mask requirement. The board said the mandate violates constitutional law and \u201ccompounds harm to California\u2019s children previously caused by prior closures and unwarranted masking requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the virus first emerged in the U.S., four million children under the age of 18 have been infected, and 300 have died of the disease. More than 16,000 have been hospitalized. Children are at significantly lower risk of serious illness or death from Covid-19, studies have shown, though most of those studies were done before Delta became dominant in the U.S.<\/p>\n Some hospitals in parts of the country hard hit by the Delta variant, such as Florida and Louisiana, have said more children are ending up in their care, though it is unclear if the Delta variant is more dangerous for them, health officials have said.<\/p>\n CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Thursday that Delta\u2019s rapid spread could explain rising cases among groups less likely to fall sick.<\/p>\n Masks are effective in keeping the virus from spreading to other children and adults, said Keri Althoff, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Althoff said masks are useful for containing the Delta variant and are especially effective in school settings when used with other measures, including vaccinations and being outside when possible.<\/p>\n Dr. Althoff said multiple studies have shown students struggle in remote classes, but little research shows the impact of masks on learning and social development. \u201cThis is a balancing act,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Many opposed to mask requirements cite inconsistent direction from the CDC on the issue. The World Health Organization and UNICEF said last August the decision to use masks for children age 6 to 11 should take a number of factors into account, including the whether there is widespread transmission where the child lives, and the \u201cpotential impact of wearing a mask on learning and psychosocial development.\u201d<\/p>\n Children 12 and older are eligible to be vaccinated and clinical trials are under way on their effects on younger children. Roughly 7.7 million children between ages 12 and 17 were fully vaccinated by Aug. 4, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.<\/p>\n In Georgia, where school has already started, the number of new Covid-19 cases dropped from January to June. In July, the state, as well as Gwinnett and other counties in metro Atlanta, saw a spike, primarily driven by Delta, health officials said. The rates of Covid-19 infection and hospitalization for children and young adults in Georgia have risen since June.<\/p>\n In Gwinnett County, school officials said the new mask requirement is widely supported by parents.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the first day of school at Chesney Elementary School in Gwinnett County, all the students and staffers wore masks as they chatted and attended classes in bright rooms. Many kindergartners and first-grade students brought their own masks and wore them as they formed lines in hallways and filed into classrooms.<\/p>\n School officials had masks on hand for anyone who forgot and staffers gently reminded students to wear them properly.<\/p>\n \u201cIf everybody has a mask on, then we can at least have some level of assurance everybody\u2019s on the same playing field,\u201d said Brandon Ealy, who has two children that attend Chesney.<\/p>\n Brenda Stewart said she would keep her 9-year-old daughter, Drue, home from the first day at Level Creek Elementary School on Monday and plans instead to home-school her. Ms. Stewart said she believes masks inhibit learning by making it difficult for students and teachers to speak and be understood. She said she believes cloth masks do little to stop the virus.<\/p>\n \u201cI need to make my own choices for what\u2019s best for my child,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n also read :<\/p>\n CDC : Delta variant fueling increased Covid-19 infections<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Masks are back on top of the policy agenda. And confusion reigns.<\/h5>\n
The CDC recommends the use of masks indoors for all students and staff, regardless of vaccination status. It also recommends that children receive full-time, in-person learning this fall with prevention strategies in place, including social distancing.<\/p>\n
In Florida, some districts have instituted masking requirements despite an executive order from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis banning such mandates in schools. On Friday, the Florida Board of Education issued an emergency order that lets parents transfer their children to another school if the student has been subjected to harassment for choosing not to wear a mask at a school.<\/p>\n