The scholastic mask debate continues to play out in the region’s schools, where Council Rock School District is among the leaders for the number of granted exemptions. Maddie Hanna uncovered the details for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Council Rock district granted exceptions to nearly 20 percent of its 10,500 students. The allowances amounted to more than double (2,100) that of Central Bucks School District (1,100) for its 18,000 student.
Both districts require only that parents, not doctors, approve the requests. They are, however, currently being sued by parents of students with disabilities who claim that families who defy the Pennsylvania mask order endanger their already-at-risk children.
“Our clients are regularly getting notices — their children have been identified as close contacts of someone with COVID,” said Adrianna Cherkas, a lawyer for the parents suing Central Bucks. “It’s terrifying.”
The issue is also in the enforcement of the rule, as parents claim most students do not wear masks, whether they have an exemption or not.
Meanwhile, the Reopen Bucks group, which opposes masking, claims that there is no difference in community spread between districts that have stricter COVID-19 mitigation policies and those allowing more exemptions.
Read more about the mask issue at Council Rock School District and elsewhere in the region in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
