More El Paso County school districts announce mask mandates

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Two El Paso County school districts announce mask mandates for students, staff, and visitors.

Beginning Tuesday, September 7, masks will be required inside all Widefield School District 3 buildings. According to Superintendent Kevin Duren, the mandate will last four weeks. Officials will look at data and re-evaluate the mandate before October 1.

Our goal is to provide consistent in-person learning for all students. We will continue to monitor all available data to make the best decisions to reach our goals. We realize that this decision will be contested by some of our families in the community. We ask that you please give us grace and patience as we navigate through this process.

D3 Superintendent Kevin Duren

The mask mandate for Harrison School District 2 also goes into effect Tuesday, September 7. All students, staff, parents, and visitors will be required to wear a mask inside district buildings. Masks will also be required for before and after-school childcare, indoor athletic events, extracurricular activities, family nights, and any other school-related activities.

According to D2, within the past two weeks, there have been COVID-19 outbreaks at Sand Creek International, Sierra High School, and Carmel Community School.

Dr. Wendy Birhanzel, the superintendent, said the goal is to provide a safe learning environment for students and staff. The district said it will adjust protocols based on internal data and recommendations from El Paso County Public Health.

Read D2's mandate here.

Read D3's mandate here.