NC won’t require face masks when schools reopen. But some argue that the state should.
Face masks will likely be a common sight around North Carolina public schools when they reopen this year. Still, the face coverings are not being required by health officials.
School reopening guidance released this week by the state Department of Health and Human Services says “wearing cloth face coverings is strongly recommended but not required.” The recommendation comes as schools work through whether they should require students and school staff to wear face masks until the coronavirus pandemic lessens.
Some teachers and families say they won’t return to school as long as there’s no COVID-19 vaccine and face coverings aren’t required in school.
“We can’t risk it,” said Kirsten Ozimek, a Cary mother of three children, including one who is immune-compromised. “For our family, I know that it’s a deal-breaker.”
She said it’s a cop-out for the state to leave it up to schools to decide whether to require the face coverings.
The Wake County school system is asking for parental feedback on face coverings and other school reopening issues as part of an online survey that runs through June 13 at http://www.wcpss.net/thoughtexchange.
“We will need to create a culture where students and staff who may choose or need to wear face coverings are simply part of a normal day for as long as it’s deemed necessary,” Wake County Superintendent Cathy Moore says in a message asking families to take the survey. “We might all become experts at ‘smiling with our eyes’ and we welcome that challenge because we know it’s an important step to reconnecting with the students who we miss dearly.”
Face masks encouraged to reduce transmission
All North Carolina public schools have been closed since mid-March to try to slow the spread of COVID-19. Since then, the state has operated under a phased reopening plan that includes recommending that people wear face coverings when they’re out in public.
The face masks are meant to reduce the possibility of the wearer spreading the illness to other people.
Most schools are scheduled to begin next school year on Aug. 17, putting pressure on leaders to release guidelines for reopening schools.
DHHS is calling for schools to develop three reopening plans: minimal social distancing, moderate social distancing and keeping students at home for remote learning. The plan used would depend on the number of new coronavirus cases.
The health guidance will be discussed at a State Board of Education meeting on Thursday. The state Department of Public Instruction is working on recommendations for how schools would put the DHHS guidance into use.
DHHS will require schools to do things like daily temperature and symptom checks before students, staff and visitors are allowed on school buses or school campuses.
Terry Stoops, vice president of research for the John Locke Foundation, said many teachers are upset that face masks aren’t being required.
“The option to wear the mask along with the other recommendations will discourage a lot of teachers from wanting to go back to in-person teaching in the fall,” Stoops said in an interview Wednesday.
Face masks recommended in schools
DHHS isn’t mandating the wearing of face coverings but is requiring schools to share guidance on how to use, wear, remove and clean them. Health officials are also strongly recommending that schools teach and reinforce the use of cloth face coverings on school buses.
“Face coverings should be worn by students and staff (particularly older students) if feasible, and are most essential in times when physical distancing is difficult,” according to the DHHS guidance. “Consider cloth face coverings for younger children if it is determined they can reliably wear, remove and handle masks.”
The state health guidance mimics guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that says “face coverings should be worn by staff and encouraged in students.”
The state guidance acknowledges how some people can’t wear face masks for medical reasons.
“Not all staff can wear them either,” tweeted Melissa Holland, a Wake County teacher’s assistant. “I for one can’t wear one and will have a medical note if I am told I have to.”
In lieu of requiring face masks, DHHS recommends that schools give high-risk students and staff the option to work from home when school reopens.
Children are at lower risk than adults of contracting COVID-19. But Kristin Beller, president of the Wake County chapter of the N.C. Association of Educators, says last week’s death of an 8-year-old Durham student due to COVID-19 should be a wakeup call.
Beller said fellow teachers have told her they’re having nightmares about having to tell their class that a student has died from COVID-19.
“That’s not something we should take lightly,” Beller said. “That’s not an irrational fear.”
Group wants face masks required in schools
Wake NCAE has released a school reopening document that calls on requiring and providing face masks for students, staff and visitors on Wake County school campuses. Beller said their members have told them they’d feel safer with the masks being required.
Many school employees are in high-risk categories for catching COVID-19 or have family members who are at risk of contracting the disease.
Beller said that they recognize some people won’t be able to wear masks, so there should be caveats to the requirement. She said the group’s expectation would be that people who can wear masks would be required to do so.
“There are people who are able to wear a mask and may not choose to because they don’t believe the science has been proven,” Beller said. “In a school setting, that can be dangerous.”
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 2:16 PM.
