New mask rule in Harris County School District differs from other local policies
A fourth school district in the Columbus area has changed its mask policy this week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced revised K-12 guidance for COVID-19 mitigation, but the Harris County School District’s new protocols differ from others in local systems.
During a called meeting Thursday night, the HCSD board approved the recommendation to require all faculty, staff and visitors to wear masks on campus. This is an addition to the requirement for all HCSD bus riders to wear masks. But masks will remain optional for students on campus.
Six residents addressed the board during the meeting. Each of them spoke against mandatory masks for students.
The board went into closed session for about 2 1/2 hours. After they reconvened in open session, HCSD superintendent Roger Couch read the recommendation, and the board approved it 6-1 without publicly discussing the issue.
Scott Greene cast the lone opposing vote. He declined to tell the Ledger-Enquirer his reasons.
Board chairman Shane Lipp told the audience, “We appreciate the input. There has been quite a bit, as you can imagine, from all different sides.”
Lipp called the administration’s COVID-19 protocols “a great plan. . . . As things change, Mr. Couch and his team keep a pulse on what’s changing in our area, and they adapt that recommendation and adapt the process as necessary.”
The Ledger-Enquirer asked HCSD to explain why masks will be optional for students on campus but required for everyone else.
“Our priority is to have in-person school for children,” HCSD spokeswoman Rachel Crumbley told the L-E in an email. “Due to their age, the majority of the students in our district do not have the option of vaccination. Masking is an option for concerned parents. Teachers are not only a necessary component to offering in-person school, they are a more vulnerable group. Adults wearing masks will add a level of protection for all involved. And our BOE and our administrators will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments as deemed necessary.”
The L-E also asked whether “on campus” in the new HCSD policy means indoors only or outdoors as well and whether it includes HCSD properties that aren’t schools.
“The current policy is adults (faculty, staff or visitors) must wear a mask if on campus or in a school district facility,” Crumbley said. “Outdoors, masks are required if those individuals cannot socially distance 6 feet from another person.”
The HCSD decision came a day after the school districts in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties switched their mask policy from optional to mandatory for everyone inside district buildings as COVID-19 cases surge in the region. Phenix City Schools announced Thursday afternoon it will require face coverings to be worn by everyone inside district buildings except in offices and unoccupied spaces.
Bus riders in all school districts are required to wear masks, per federal mandate, local officials have said.
The school districts in Russell and Lee counties haven’t announced any change to their optional mask policies. Russell County superintendent Brenda Coley told the L-E on Friday she hopes to have a revised COVID-19 mitigation plan early next week.
Lee County Schools is keeping its optional mask policy.
“As of today, the Lee County Board of Education will not mandate masks,” Anna Shepherd-Jones, the system’s coordinator of federal programs, accountability and school Improvement, told the L-E in an email Friday. “We want to encourage parents to educate themselves and their children on the importance of being safe and doing their part to help. We want parents to partner with us so that we can keep the doors of school open.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2021 at 9:12 AM.
