I could not be more proud of how our community and schools have come together to support measures so our students and educators can learn safely during the 2020-2021 school year.
In short, the decision has been made that all students, teachers, and staff from kindergarten through 12th grade will be required to wear masks during the school day and during indoor events. Below is the resolution that the board passed and our thoughts on starting our school year.
We look forward to welcoming our students back to school on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, when the 2021-2022 school year officially begins. Last night, the Grandview Heights Board of Education passed a resolution that requires all students and staff to wear a mask K-12 during the school day. The resolution also requires masking for all indoor school events. This resolution and corresponding requirements will be revisited at our regularly scheduled Board of Education on November 11th.
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Franklin County Public Health and Columbus Public Health Departments have recommended universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status;
WHEREAS, the CDC has ordered that passengers and drivers must wear a mask while on school buses, subject to the exclusions and exemptions in its January 29, 2021 Order;
WHEREAS, the Ohio Department of Health strongly recommends that those who are unvaccinated wear masks while in school;
WHEREAS, wearing masks has been proven to prevent the spread of respiratory droplets that are created when people talk, laugh, sing, cough and sneeze and Ohio researchers have found that wearing masks combined with distancing was effective in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in schools;
WHEREAS, the highly transmissible Delta variant has become dominant in Ohio and presents an increased risk of severe illness or death to those who are unvaccinated;
WHEREAS, vaccination is the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic and eligibility currently is limited to individuals 12 years and older;
WHEREAS, ensuring students have access to in-person learning is a key priority of the Board and masks are an important prevention strategy to reduce the spread of illness and help limit the instances of isolation and quarantine;
WHEREAS, Ohio Revised Code Section 3313.67 authorizes boards of education to make and enforce such rules to prevent the spread of communicable diseases among the students attending or eligible to attend the schools of the district, as in its opinion the safety and interest of the public require;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Grandview Heights City School District Board of Education will require:
(1) Universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status. The district will make exceptions for individuals with disabilities who cannot wear a mask or cannot safely wear a mask for reasons related to the disability. An exception will be made for individuals for whom wearing a mask would create a risk to workplace health, safety or job duty.
(2) Passengers and drivers on all school transportation shall wear masks when required by applicable laws and regulations.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Superintendent is authorized to adopt procedures to implement this resolution, directed to monitor current guidance, recommendations and requirements from public health authorities, and directed to make recommendations to adjust mask requirements as necessary.