As Schools Open, Leaders Battle Over Mask Rules, Virus Surge - Barron's

Parents brace as children return to school for the 2021-22 academic year. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

With schools opening amid soaring coronavirus infections in many parts of the country and conflicting information about how to protect children from the virus, parents are bracing for the 2021-22 academic year. 

Public health officials have shifted their advice as communities push for schools to open full-time and in-person. Vaccinations and mask-wearing have erupted into political battles, even between state and local leaders.

Already, two Atlanta-area elementary schools have moved to virtual learning as has a school district in southern Indiana until the end of the month after a surge in Covid-19 cases. And parents in Franklin, Tennessee, angrily protested a school board meeting this week, during which a mask requirement for students was approved. 

In Mississippi, where some districts are mask-optional, nearly 1,000 children and 300 teachers and staff have tested positive since schools opened, and nearly 5,000 children and staff are now quarantined, according to Mississippi’s Health Department.

School started Tuesday in Palm Beach County, Florida, where 440 students are now quarantined after officials confirmed 51 cases (37 students and 14 teachers) across more than 20 schools, the school district said.

This month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that everyone 2 and older in K-12 schools — students, teachers, staff, and visitors — should wear masks indoors, even if they are vaccinated.

California, which already requires masks be worn in schools, on Thursday became the first state to require that all teachers and school staff prove they are vaccinated or submit to weekly testing by Oct. 15.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, and Oklahoma have banned schools from requiring that students or teachers wear masks or be vaccinated. Some local governments and school boards are defying state mandates against such mandates.

During a press conference on Thursday, President Joe Biden thanked the local leaders who are “standing up to the governors politicizing mask protection for our kids” in states like Florida and Texas, saying, “This isn’t about politics. It’s about keeping our kids safe.” 

The U.S reported 132,384 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday and is averaging 113,000 new cases a day, driven by the spread of the especially contagious and virulent Delta variant. Florida and Texas have 40% of the hospitalizations.

“Most of the infection that is coming into schools is coming from high rates of disease in the community,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Thursday. “The best way to keep our schools safe …is to vaccinate everyone who can be vaccinated, vaccinate family members if children cannot yet be vaccinated, and then to follow the mitigation strategies in our school guidance, including masking in schools.”

More than 700 colleges and universities now require students and or staff to be vaccinated, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Supreme Court on Thursday refused a request by eight Indiana University students who sought to block the school’s requirement that they submit proof of Covid-19 vaccination returning to campus this fall.

The American Federation of Teachers, which is the second-largest teachers union, eased off of its resistance to vaccine mandates, The Wall Street Journal reported. In a unanimous vote, union said it will work with districts that are designing vaccination mandates for teachers before they return to classrooms this fall.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened to stop paying superintendents and school boards who defy his orders against mask requirements. The Broward County School Board in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday voted to keep its mask mandate and is exploring legal action.

In Texas, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has issued a mask mandate for all public schools, child care centers, and businesses in Dallas County, despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order banning local officials from enacting such mandates. 

School districts in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio still plan to require masks for students and school staff.

The Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved vaccines for children under 12. Although drug makers are conducting clinical trials among children as young as six months old, they won’t be approved before school begins.

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