Academy School District 20 implements mask requirement
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- The largest school district in Colorado Springs will start requiring masks for all students, staff and faculty on Monday, September 27th. The requirement applies to preschool through 12th grade while in indoor classroom settings or large outdoor group gatherings. The mask mandate applies to everyone, regardless of vaccination status.
Academy School District 20 alerted the community of the change on Friday in a school eNewsletter. The goal of the mandate is to keep students learning in the classroom, and minimize quarantines.
According to the newsletter from ASD20, more than 2,000 students have been forced to quarantine in the first six weeks of school. That averages out to more than 300 students every week.
Superintendent Tom Gregory reiterates in the newsletter that quarantines keep students out of more than just class, "Students have not only missed school, but have also been forced to miss athletic competitions, the High Trails experience, choir, band, theater, homecoming and other important programs and activities."
Facial coverings can be removed temporarily in the classroom when it is instructionally appropriate. Facial coverings/masks continue to be required on school buses per federal law. During passing periods – because students are not together for more than 15 minutes – facial coverings/masks may be removed until entering the next classroom.
Facial coverings/masks will not be required outdoors, and principals are committed to providing adequate masking breaks throughout the day. The mask requirement will not affect any on-going quarantines.
Medical exemptions for facial covering will require written proof from a medical professional. Exemption reasons include medical or health conditions, mental or physical disability, or developmental or behavioral needs that make wearing a facial covering impossible in a learning environment.
Refusal to wear a facial covering without medical exemption will result in a reminder, followed by parent/guardian contact if refusal persists. Proper facial coverings/masks must cover nose and mouth and be secured to the head with ties, straps, or loops over the ears or wrapped around the lower face or neck. The district will continue supplying masks to any student who needs one.
In the newsletter Superintendent Tom Gregory said, "I do not intend to debate the effectiveness of facial covering/mask-usage... I will continue to work with local public health to propose and develop alternatives that could reduce quarantines going forward, without requiring face coverings. I am frustrated by our current situation as it places public education in a no-win position."
