SOLON– It was a quick switch.
Late Friday, May 14, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) issued new guidance for schools making mask-wearing optional for students and employees.
The Solon Community School District’s (SCSD) administration reviewed the new guidance, according to Superintendent Davis Eidahl, and shifted practices to align with the recommendations.
“The administration and board reviewed the guidance late Friday and much of Saturday and released the following statement to staff and community on Sunday,” Eidahl reported in an email. “Three days later Iowa passed the new law restricting a school from requiring masks.”
The letter to students, parents and staff announced the change.
“Throughout the school year, we have followed IDPH guidance and will continue to do so. Beginning Monday, May 17, masks will be optional at school and during school activities. Parents will determine if they want their child to wear a face covering. Additionally, the IDPH issued updated guidance on how schools and families should handle childhood illnesses, including COVID-19.”
The letter was signed by the SCSD administration and board of directors.
Not everyone was happy with the short notice or the swift change in policy.
At a meeting of the school board May 20, Stephanie Edmonds read a letter by parents by Laurie and Mike Neuerburg to the board members critical of the move.
Edmonds noted the letter had been written prior to the action by the Iowa Legislature.
The letter noted the decision to end mitigation strategies was reckless.
Parents received less than 24 hours notice that classmates would not be required to wear masks the next day and that small cohorts, quarantines and contact tracing would be abandoned, the Neuerburgs stated.
The new variants of the coronavirus infect children more easily and cause more serious illness, they stated. Thousands of kids are burdened with long-haul COVID symptoms.
For the district to put children in harm’s way based on flawed local guidance with essentially no notice, was “totally unacceptable,” they added.
The Centers for Disease Control clearly states unvaccinated individuals need masks to interact safely, and while students are understandably tired of masks, they need to understand the science behind their use, the letter noted.
Just like football helmets, masks don’t eliminate risks, but greatly reduce them.
A vaccine is expected to be ready for ages 2-11 in the fall, the couple observed.
“We owe it to our kids to expect them to wear masks until they have the opportunity to be fully vaccinated in the fall, and then they can all unmask in a way that speaks to the spirit of Solon,” the letter concluded.
Eidahl, in his email subsequent to the meeting, pointed to recommendations in a release by IDPH Director Kelly Garcia, and to the action by the legislature.
“While COVID-19 positive and symptomatic children should be excluded, exposed children should no longer be required to stay home, regardless of mask usage,” Garcia’s memo stated. “Moreover, when there is a positive case, parents should be given information around exposure to COVID-19 in order to make their own informed decisions regarding risk. To that end, while we acknowledge that some parents may want their child to continue to wear a cloth face covering for reasons that make sense for their family or that child’s individual health condition, we urge schools and child care settings to provide parents and students with the option to make their own decision about mask usage.”
Based on the state’s action, Eidahl said, schools cannot require students or employees to wear masks.
“We are following Iowa law by not requiring masks,” he observed.