Mid-Missouri school districts have not released mask plans as start of school looms

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

With less than two weeks remaining before many schools start back up, districts throughout Mid-Missouri have not made a decision on mandating masks.

Columbia Public Schools will be fully in person in the fall. The district has not made any decisions on coronavirus mitigation strategies such as masking and social distancing based on the full in-person return. The district continues to monitor COVID-19 in the community, officials have said.

CPS is continuing to monitor information being released by various education and health authorities including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, comparable school districts across the state and higher education institutions.

The Columbia City Council rejected a citywide mask mandate Monday but it wasn't clear Tuesday how that decision will influence CPS.

CPS starts classes Aug. 24 for grades 1-12 and Aug. 26 for kindergarteners.  A Jump Start day for grades 6 and 9 is scheduled for Aug. 23.

The district says it continues to encourage the CPS community to get vaccinated, saying vaccination is critical to conducting school with as few interruptions as possible.

Noelle Gilzow, president of the Columbia Missouri National Education Association, said the CMNEA COVID Advisory Committee recommends CPS start the school year with masks because of the highly transmissible delta variant.

"We are concerned about the transmissibility of the delta variant in particular among our students who are not yet able to be vaccinated," Gilzow said. "And we know that people who are vaccinated can potentially still get sick and still transmit the virus to those who are not vaccinated. So to protect everybody, Our recommendation was and remains that we should start school with masks on, until the younger students are able to get vaccinated, and protected."

Gilzow said the CMNEA wants to have more students in classrooms, and wearing masks has shown to reduce the number of students in quarantine.

"We want them to stay in school and we want them to not have to be quarantined and the one way we can achieve all three of those things is by masking until everybody can be vaccinated," Gilzow said.

The Jefferson City School District released a finalized back-to-school plan for fall on Friday, but did not make a decision on masking. The district will release a decision on masks for staff and families no later than Monday, which is one week before the first day of classes.

The plan says some schools will allow children to eat lunch in the cafeteria again and move out of their primary classroom for activities such as physical education, music and field trips. During these activities, students will remain in small cohorts and seating charts will be used.

Some of JCSD's COVID precautions will be relaxed, according to the plan. For example, it will no longer monitor thermal cameras and check temperatures in the car line. However, masks will be required on buses, per CDC guidelines.

Although in-person learning is the priority, virtual learning through Launch will still be available to JCSD students.

Blair Oaks School District R-II has not yet finalized its plans for the school year.