Students in grades K-12 at the Lakota Local School District will no longer be required to wear masks in response to updated guidance from the Ohio Department of Health.
Changes to the district's COVID-19 protocols will go into effect on Monday, Superintendent Matthew Miller wrote in a letter to parents Friday afternoon.
Masks will be strongly recommended for K-12 students and staff regardless of vaccination status, Miller wrote, adding that masks are still required in the district's preschool program.
Per a federal mask order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding public transit, masks will remain a requirement on school buses as well.
"As we have done since the start of the pandemic, in addition to reviewing the guidance from ODH, we consulted with local medical experts before making this decision," Miller wrote. "We have not received any feedback from the Butler County General Health District that opposes these new protocols."
The state's new guidance, "mask-to-stay" and "test-to-play," allows students and staff exposed to the virus at school to remain in class so long as they wear a mask for two weeks and monitor for any symptoms. They also may remain in extracurricular activities so long as they mask when able and receive two negative COVID-19 tests.
In an effort to reduce the number of healthy students forced to quarantine at home, school districts in Warren County participated in a pilot program that closely mirrors the new statewide guidance.
More: Mason City Schools tried it first. What to know about Ohio's new quarantine guidance
Just 3% of the Lakota's quarantined close contacts have contracted COVID-19, according to Miller.
The district's mask requirement under the prior quarantine provision has kept 3,400 students out of quarantine since the beginning of the school year, Miller said. But the new guidance allows healthy close contacts to stay in school while giving families the option as to whether their child should wear a mask.
"While we understand that parents have very strong feelings on both sides of the mask issue, it has always been our priority to keep kids in school," Miller wrote.
"Please understand that we will continue to watch our positive numbers closely," he wrote. "If we see a spike in positive cases, we may choose to reinstate the mask requirement at any time."
Source link
