CALIFORNIA NEWS
State Mask Mandate for K-12 Schools
Enforcement To Be Handled At The Local Level
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n July 9, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published its updated recommendations for K-12 schools. The following guidance, issued July 12, 2021, applies CDC’s recommendations to the California context, to help K-12 schools formulate and implement plans for safe, successful, and full in-person instruction in the 2021-22 school year. This guidance is effective immediately and will be reviewed regularly by the California Department of Public Health. The foundational principle is all students must have access to safe and full in-person instruction and to as much instructional time as possible. In California, the surest path to safe and full in-person instruction at the outset of the school year, as well as minimizing missed school days in an ongoing basis, is a strong emphasis on: Vaccination for all eligible individuals to get COVID-19 rates down throughout the community; universal masking in schools, which enables no minimum physical distancing, allowing all students access to full in-person learning, and more targeted quarantine practices, keeping students in school; and access to a robust COVID-19 testing program as an available additional safety layer. Recent evidence indicates in-person instruction can occur safely without minimum physical distancing requirements when other mitigation strategies (e.g., masking) are fully implemented. This is consistent with CDC K-12 School Guidance. Masks are one of the most effective and simplest safety mitigation layers to prevent in-school transmission of COVID-19 infections and to support full time in-person instruction in K-12 schools. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is transmitted primarily by aerosols (airborne transmission), and less frequently by droplets. Physical distancing is generally used to reduce only droplet transmission, whereas masks are one of the most effective measures for source control of both aerosols and droplets. Therefore, masks best promote both safety and inperson learning by reducing the need for physical distancing. Under the new guidance from the CDC, universal masking also permits modified quarantine practices under certain conditions in K-12 settings, further promoting more instructional time for students. Finally, this approach takes into
regarding measures that can be used in a layered prevention strategy follows.
account a number of key considerations: Current unknowns associated with variants and in particular the Delta Variant, which is more transmissible; operational barriers of tracking vaccination status in order to monitor and enforce mask wearing; and potential detrimental effects on students of differential mask policies. Detrimental effects of differential mask policies include: potential stigma, bullying, isolation of vaccinated OR unvaccinated students, depending on the culture and attitudes in the school or surrounding community. CDPH will continue to assess conditions on an ongoing basis, and will determine no later than Nov. 1, 2021, whether to update mask requirements or recommendations. Indicators, conditions, and science review will include vaccination coverage status, whether vaccines are available for children under 12, community case and hospitalization rates, outbreaks, and ongoing vaccine effectiveness against circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in alignment with the CDC-recommended indicators to guide K-12 school operations. This guidance is designed to enable all schools to offer and provide full in-person instruction to all students safely, consistent with the current scientific evidence about COVID-19, even if pandemic dynamics shift throughout the school year, affected by vaccination rates and the potential emergence of viral variants. This guidance includes mandatory requirements, recommendations and resources to inform decision-making. Implementation requires training and support for staff and adequate consideration of student and family needs. Stricter guidance may be issued by local public health officials or other authorities. COVID-19 vaccination is strongly
recommended for all eligible people in California, including teachers, staff, students, and adults sharing homes with these members of our K-12 communities. See CDC recommendations about how to promote vaccine access and uptake for schools. California vaccine access information is on the Safe Schools Hub and Vaccinate All 58 – Let’s Get to Immunity. In workplaces, employers are subject to the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (or in some workplaces the CalOSHA Aerosol Transmissible Diseases Standard) and should consult those regulations. General Considerations onsideration should be given to both the direct school population as well as the surrounding community. The primary factors to consider include: Level of community transmission of COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the community and among students, faculty, and staff; and any local COVID-19 outbreaks or increasing trends. Discussion of these factors should occur in collaboration with local or state public health partners. As the CDC explained July 9: “Schools will have a mixed population of both people who are fully vaccinated and people who are not fully vaccinated. . . These variations require K-12 administrators to make decisions about the use of COVID-19 prevention strategies in their schools to protect people who are not fully vaccinated. . . Together with local public health officials, school administrators should consider multiple factors when they make decisions about implementing layered prevention strategies against COVID-19.” To streamline and tailor this decisionmaking process for California, guidance
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Safety Measures for K-12 Schools Masks Masks are optional outdoors for all in K-12 school settings. K-12 students are required to mask indoors, with exemptions per CDPH face mask guidance. Adults in K-12 school settings are required to mask when sharing indoor spaces with students. Persons exempted from wearing a face covering due to a medical condition must wear a non-restrictive alternative, such as a face shield with a drape on the bottom edge, as long as their condition permits it. Schools must develop and implement local protocols to provide a face covering to students who inadvertently fail to bring a face covering to school to prevent unnecessary exclusions. Consistent with guidance from 2020-21, schools must develop and implement local protocols to enforce the mask requirements. Schools should offer alternative educational opportunities for students who are excluded from campus because they will not wear a face covering. Editor’s note: The state’s K-12 Schools Guidance issued July 13 included a line saying schools must exclude students refusing to wear a mask and lacking a medical reason. On July 14, the state said that was in error, and revised the wording — see sentence on “alternative” educational opportunities, emphasizing that enforcement is up to local schools. Santa Cruz County Office of Education reports 13,790 vaccinations, 84% of educators living in the county, education partners and students 16 and up, and16% of childcare workers, education spouses and farmworkers.) Public schools should be aware of the requirements in AB 130 to offer independent study programs for the 2021-22 school year. In limited situations where a face covering cannot be used for pedagogical or developmental reasons, (e.g. communicating or assisting young children or those with special needs) a face shield with a drape (per CDPH guidelines) can be used instead of a face covering while in the classroom as long as the wearer maintains physical distance from others. Staff must return to wearing a face covering outside of the classroom. “Mask Guidance” page 24
www.tpgonlinedaily.com Aptos Times / July 15th 2021 / 23
