Decision On Mask Mandate For Princeton Schools Coming Next Week

Princeton NJ

23 February, 2022

2:08 PM

Description

PRINCETON, NJ — Superintendent of Princeton Public Schools said that the district will make an announcement early next week on whether or not to drop the classroom mask mandate. During the Board of Education meeting held on Tuesday, Feb.22, Superintendent Carol Kelley said the decision will be made after consulting with local health officials. "We have been working side-by-side with Jeff Grosser, and the Public Health Department, as well as Dr. Helmrich, our principals and nurses. We meet on a weekly basis, and have been looking at our COVID transmission numbers," Kelley said. "We're looking at our vaccination rates, and the trends are going in the right direction." Although the COVID-19 numbers are trending in the right direction, Kelley said district officials are waiting for the state Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Education (DOE) to provide more guidance and information before making the final decision. "We want to wait until we hear from the Department of Health and the Department of Education because they are going to be releasing, this week, updated guidance for K-12," Kelley said. "My prediction is that we should be able to share with the community what our plans are after March 8, at the beginning of next week. So please stay tuned." Gov. Phil Murphy announced earlier this month that New Jersey will drop its statewide mask mandate for schools, effective March 7. The state will allow individual school districts and daycare centers to maintain masking requirements after that date. But many school districts, including neighboring Lawrence Township Public Schools and South Brunswick Public Schools, are waiting for guidance from the DOE and DOH, before making an announcement. Many school districts cited concerns over certain Federal mandates that continue to remain in place, which could put schools in a tight spot. One example is what happens when a student is back in school on day 6 or 7 after a positive case of COVID-19. Currently, the guidance is for that student to wear a mask for the next 5 days. It's not clear if masking will be optional for that student when the state mask mandate is dropped. Another issue involves contact tracing and quarantines. If the current statewide quarantine rules are not adjusted, then schools will be forced to send home all students who are within six feet of a COVID-19 positive student in classrooms. This would result in more children being home for a longer period, leading to learning loss, according to South Brunswick Schools Superintendent. Also, as of now, New Jersey students will still have to mask up on school buses even after March 7, according to Federal mandates. The New Jersey Department of Health is expected to suggest that school districts and childcare centers require masks if COVID-19 transmission becomes high in their communities. "A lot of these decisions will quite rightfully be made at the district level with the input of the local health authorities and the local realities," Murphy said Wednesday during the state's weekly coronavirus news briefing. The state health department intends to release updated guidelines for schools and childcare settings later Wednesday. Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email [email protected] Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.