Citing community feedback, Jenks Public Schools’ board requested Monday evening that the district strengthen its language regarding masks to state they are encouraged or strongly recommended. The district’s original plan said masks were optional for staff and students.
“I’m not a public health expert, but with school starting, everyone expects the case numbers to start trending in a way we don’t want them to,” board member Melissa Abdo said.
Earlier this year, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law Senate Bill 658, which bars school districts from requiring students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to attend classes in person. The measure also prohibits school districts from requiring that masks be worn on campus unless a state of emergency is declared by the governor.
Leaders at both Jenks and Union Public Schools acknowledged during board meetings Monday night that those changes have made it challenging to plan for the coming year.
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“I will be very interested to see what this no-mask mandate will look like for our state,” Union Superintendent Kirt Hartzler said. “I will say that I am not a fan of what passed the Legislature.”
The Union school board declined to take action on its proposed reentry plan Monday, instead sending the proposal back to the district’s COVID-19 task force for revisions. It will come back before the board at a special meeting before the start of classes on Aug. 18.
Associate Superintendent Charlie Bushyhead said the task force had last met almost two weeks ago, prompting questions from several board members about whether some of items in the proposal are still applicable in light of rapidly rising COVID-19 case numbers.
Among the policy areas called into question are whether the district will require students to quarantine rather than simply encourage it; whether assemblies will be allowed; and whether visitors may come inside schools.
As originally presented to the board, the plan does not call for grouping elementary students into cohorts as a preventative measure, but it does leave individual school sites the option of doing so when it is practical. The draft proposal also allows for assemblies and for individual campuses to decide whether they will allow nonemployees inside buildings.
“Those are big pieces of the plan that were left open-ended,” board member Heather McAdams said. “I know when we met 12 days ago, that felt like the right decision, but a lot has changed since then.
“It’s only been 12 days, but that no longer feels reasonable. A lot has changed, and the committee just could not have predicted that.”
Broken Arrow Public Schools’ board formally approved its reentry protocols for the coming year by a 4-0 vote Monday.
The plan calls for seating charts to be used in an effort to facilitate both contact tracing and social distancing.
Although the school district will notify parents if their child has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, students will not be required to quarantine unless they start showing symptoms or test positive themselves.
Broken Arrow Public Schools will be partnering with Team Clinic to offer rapid COVID-19 tests on campus for students with parental permission.
Broken Arrow, Union and Jenks are scheduled to start classes on Aug. 18.
“We’re going to have school,” Broken Arrow board President Steve Allen said. “I’m excited.”
Other area school districts, including Tulsa, Sand Springs, Owasso and Sperry, previously released their 2021-22 plans for COVID-19 protocols.
Jacob Factor contributed to this story.
Related video: Tulsa Public Schools superintendent on masks for 2021-22 school year
Aug. 9, 2021 video. TPS superintendent Deborah Gist addressed media about COVID-19 concerns during a Zoom call
