District 11 mask mandate for staff, anticipates mandate for elementary school students

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Wednesday night, Colorado Springs School District 11 announced a mask requirement for staff and a possible mask requirement for some students.

Beginning Tuesday, September 7, all D11 staff will be required to wear either a mask, regardless of vaccination status, while inside with others in the same classroom or office.

Officials also anticipate a mask requirement for elementary school students to go into effect that day.

In an update to the district's Return To Learn, officials said:

As we monitor the El Paso County Public Health data, we anticipate the trend in cases to increase by the end of the week. If the data shows five consecutive days above 200/100K, as indicated here, we will implement mask/face covering requirements for all elementary students regardless of vaccination status. Due to rapid increase in cases in our community, we anticipate the mask/face covering requirement for elementary to go into effect by Tuesday, September 7, 2021. We will communicate with you as soon as possible regarding this requirement so you may have adequate time to prepare. The requirement will be in place for 30 days and re-evaluated as we continue to monitor the community COVID spread. Your student’s school office will have disposable masks available for students should they forget, soil, or damage their mask.

District 11

At this time, students 12 and older who are not fully vaccinated are encouraged to wear a mask, however, there is not a requirement.

Read the update here.