Columbia Public Schools will require all students and adults, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks inside school buildings and on busses, starting this Monday.
In an email sent to parents Friday afternoon, CPS said due to the current high transmission rates of the COVID-19 Delta variant, masking is one mitigation strategy they can use to try to keep students learning safely and in-person.
They describe it as “not a forever decision,’ and say the district will monitor the situation and reevaluate later.
Masks will not be required outdoors, and those with special service accommodations will work with their specific schools to address those needs. The message also encouraged vaccinations, handwashing, and social distancing as other measures to prevent spread of the virus, and laid out the plans for quarantine protocols should students or teachers be exposed.
Classes resume on August 23rd. Earlier this week the Columbia City Council voted not to institute a citywide mask mandate amidst protests at the meeting to discuss the measure.