Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that all teachers, staff, students, and visitors wear masks inside school buildings, regardless of their vaccination status. In response, Chip Slaven, interim Executive Director and CEO of the National School Boards Association (NSBA), offered the following statement:

“Today’s guidance from the CDC provides much-needed clarity around the importance of masks for all children and adults—vaccinated and unvaccinated—within a school setting. School board members, superintendents, principals, teachers, and other school staff have enough on their plates without asking them to be detectives as well, figuring out who is vaccinated and who is not.

“Complicating a safe return to school buildings this fall has been the increased politicization of mask requirements, including several states that have enacted laws banning mask requirements.

“School board members are non-partisan, mostly unpaid volunteers who are focused solely on the best academic, safety, and health outcomes for the students in their district. As they have throughout the pandemic, school board members will continue to examine local health data, consult guidance from the CDC and other health organizations, and listen to feedback from parents, teachers, students, and community members as they develop recommendations and policies for this fall, whether classes are in-person, remote, or hybrid.”

 

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