Two more Tulsa area school districts released their 2021-22 reentry plans Wednesday.
A draft version released Wednesday afternoon says masks will be “highly recommended” at Union Public Schools but will not be required.
Under the proposal, Union officials will notify the Tulsa Health Department if more than two cases of COVID-19 from different households are identified within the same classroom or on-campus group, such as a team or club. The plan does not call for grouping elementary students into cohorts as a preventative measure, but it does leave individual sites the option of doing so when it is practical.
Although contact tracing will still be in place, the district will not be forcing students or staff to quarantine in the event of a close contact exposure. Instead, it will simply be recommended.
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The district is seeking community feedback on its plan before it is formally adopted by its school board. The board is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Monday.
To the west, noting guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wear masks indoors in areas with high transmission rates, Jenks Public Schools’ Return to Learn plan states that masks will be optional and available for anyone who wants one.
Parents and visitors will be allowed in school lobbies and offices for scheduled appointments. Individual campuses will have the option of approving volunteer activities that bring parents or other community members into their buildings.
Additionally, the district will be publishing updated COVID-19 case data on its website on Fridays.
The first day of school for both districts is Aug. 18.
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.
Even if such a declaration is issued, the new law requires that additional steps be observed, including revisiting a mask mandate at every regular school board meeting while it is in place.
A handful of districts around the Tulsa area have already released their COVID-19 safety plans for the coming year, including Tulsa, Sand Springs, Sperry and Owasso.
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