Blue Valley extends mask mandate to everyone, following other Johnson County schools
Following the lead of most other Johnson County districts, the Blue Valley school board on Monday decided to extend its mask mandate to everyone at all grade levels.
Last week, the district announced it would require masks inside elementary and middle schools, abiding by a county health order mandating masks for all private and public schools that teach students as old as sixth grade.
But most Johnson County districts decided to go further than the county’s order and require masks for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, worried that low vaccination rates among unmasked high schoolers would lead to mass quarantines and outbreaks.
With COVID-19 cases climbing, the Blue Valley school board voted 6-1 to mandate masks for all staff and students in all district buildings, including those in its program for adults ages 18 to 21. The board agreed to review the decision quarterly.
The decision was to the relief of hundreds of parents and physicians, including 200 who penned a letter to the district urging that all schools require universal masking. Hundreds of other parents have fought pandemic mandates.
The Shawnee Mission, Olathe and De Soto districts have also decided to require everyone to wear masks indoors as school starts. The Gardner-Edgerton district is mandating masks for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, and for older students who share classes or other spaces with the younger grades.
The Spring Hill district was expected to announce its decision this week.
The actions followed a vote by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, which decided 5-2 last Thursday to mandate masks for public and private schools that teach pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. The board’s order states that middle schools with sixth-graders have to require masks, unless sixth-graders are separated from higher grades throughout the school day.
The new rules come as Johnson County reports skyrocketing new COVID-19 cases due to the highly contagious delta variant and hospitals reach capacity. Health officials have reported a growing number of cases among children, and have had to close some summer camps and child care facilities due to outbreaks.
This story was originally published August 10, 2021 at 9:37 AM.
