On February 16th, a new Virginia law was passed that affects student masking choices starting on Tuesday, March 1st in Hopewell. The law states that parents can choose for their children to not have to wear a mask while at school.
Please note that there are several exceptions to masking choice by the nature of what the law does and does not cover:
-
Masks are still required at Woodlawn, as Woodlawn is funded in part by the Head Start and Head Start is a federal program in which masks are required.
-
Masks are still required of all staff. The new law only addressed choice as it relates to students, not staff. Staff are still required to wear masks according to the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry requirements as well as our board requirement.
-
With these above exceptions, please be aware that there was new CDC guidance that came out late Friday (February 25th) and the implications of those changes on the exceptions above are still being reviewed. The CDC change has removed the requirement for masks on school buses.
As we implement the new law, please note the following clarifications and information:
-
Students are not required to have a note from a parent saying they are allowed to be unmasked. If a student is unmasked, we will assume that is the parent’s choice together with their child. However, if a parent would like the teacher’s help to ensure their child is still wearing a mask, the parent should send a note to the teacher to ask for help doing this and the teacher should provide help with this as much as is reasonably possible.
-
We will strive to implement other mitigation strategies where feasible. For instance, we plan to continue the weekly testing option, monitor and continually maintain ventilation systems, minimize the mixing of students when practical, provide access to vaccinations, and remind everyone to stay home when positive or with symptoms.
-
We will not sort or separate children based on whether they choose to be masked or unmasked and we cannot honor a parent’s request for a masked child to be separated or distanced from unmasked children. If there is a particular medical situation with a child, we will review it as we would any other request for adjustments due to a medical need.
-
We will review with students the importance of treating others with respect and kindness without regard to their mask choice.
-
Please note that we do not continue to recommend the use of plexiglass for mitigation as it is no longer stressed as a mitigation strategy.
Please note that as the guidance, laws, policies, and level of COVID continue to change, the guidelines we have in schools will also be updated. It continues to be our goal to do our very best for student learning and safety.