By: Kuni Isaac
Clovis Unified’s school board voted Wednesday to end the requirement for students to wear face coverings in class to protect against COVID-19.
The trustees voted unanimously during a special meeting on Wednesday. Trustee Hugh Awtrey was absent.
The new district rule making masks optional went into immediate effect.
Trustees were careful to say they weren’t challenging the state policy requiring masks in schools, but students would no longer be excluded from class for not wearing a mask.
The board’s motion leveraged authority granted to local school boards and ended “the protocol of excluding students from their classroom and the district.” Instead, the district will enforce the mandate “through education-based approaches,” such as posting the mandate on each school campus, encouraging observance of the mandate and notifying parents in writing of noncompliance.
“One consistent vision of this board has been that students belong in the classroom all day, every day, right now,” said Board Member David DeFrank, who served on the board’s COVID subcommittee. “Exclusionary enforcement of the mask mandate is a hindrance to realizing this vision.
“Moreover, the current approach has drained the time and resources of our teachers, office staff and administrators,” he said. “This is time best spent continuing their challenging and noble work of educating and caring for our students. The status quo is simply not sustainable for our staff.”
The vote was met with cheers and applause from a standing-room only crowd of around 175 people, including parents and students. Over a dozen parents and students spoke during public comment seeking “mask choice.”
The vote came about a week after the district announced it would end contact tracing, notification of exposure and required testing in certain situations. Those decisions were made after receiving guidance from the Fresno County Public Health Department.
California’s indoor mask mandate ended earlier this month, with the exception of students and teachers in schools. But, many school districts are defying the rules anyway. Last week, the Sierra Unified school board voted to drop the student masking requirements, making them optional for students and staff.
Meanwhile, state legislators are still pushing COVID-19 supports for schools, including proposed legislation to mandate testing plans for schools and require the California Department of Public Health to help school districts develop them. Another proposal would allow students to get vaccinated without their parents’ consent.
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