Westfield schools moving back to mask-optional starting Monday
Starting Monday, masks will no longer be mandatory in Westfield-Washington Schools.
Three months after instituting the contentious mask mandate for all teachers, students and staff members, the district will recommend but not require them, it announced in a message to families sent Friday. The change comes as new COVID-19 cases have declined from their peak in early fall and as vaccination rates in the community increase, the district said.
"Early this school year, when the COVID-19 situation took a drastic turn, we took swift action to reverse course and implement a mask mandate," wrote Superintendent Paul Kaiser in the email message. "As our city and county vaccination rate continues to lead the state and our district’s positive cases remain low, we are prepared to, once again, let the data guide us."
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Kaiser expressed doubt over the effectiveness of masks back in August, even as the district was implementing its mandate.
"There’s a preponderance of evidence saying masks aren’t effective," Kaiser said during a school board meeting, adding that there's also research that says masks are effective.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Indiana State Department of Health and county health officials as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics have all recommended that schools have universal mask wearing for K-12 students and staff. Health officials have urged masks as a way to decrease COVID-19 spread from the more contagious delta variant, especially among the unvaccinated.
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The state has encouraged districts to adopt a universal masking policy by allowing those that enforce one to do away with most of the required quarantining for individuals exposed to COVID-19 in school buildings. With the move to a mask recommendation, Westfield will once again need to quarantine students identified as a close contact. Students within three feet of someone who tests positive for the virus will need to quarantine, the district said.
Masks will still be required on buses, in accordance with a federal mandate.
Masks will also be required in buildings with a COVID-19 positivity rate above 1.75% until the positivity rate drops below 1%.
If six buildings in the district have a positivity rate above 1.75%, the mask mandate will come back district-wide until all of its school buildings have a positivity rate below 1%.
Education reporter MJ Slaby contributed to this story.
Call IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at 317-201-5620 or email her at Arika.Herron@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana mask mandates: Westfield schools go mask-optional on Monday
