One day after Governor Jay Inslee‘s announcement that most statewide mask mandates, including schools, would end March 21st, Seattle Public Schools has just published its reaction:
Seattle Public Schools is aware of Governor Inslee’s plan to lift the state mask mandate on March 21, 2022.
Implementation in the school district must meet the unique health and safety needs of our students, families, and staff. Seattle Public Schools continues to look to guidance from Public Health – Seattle & King County.
SPS will:
-Continue until further notice with our current policy requiring mask use by all students, staff, visitors and others while they are indoors and outdoors at all SPS buildings;
-Continue to require mask use on school buses, as required by federal law;
-Base updates to current masking policy on the specific needs of the district, informed by local public health guidance.
-Negotiate with the Seattle Education Association, as required by the current collective bargaining agreement, to arrive at a mutually agreeable position regarding any permanent change to mask use requirements throughout the district.
Future decisions on mask use within the district will be made in partnership with public health, and its implementation will be established after consultation and mutually agreed upon guidelines that are reached through bargaining with our labor partners.
COVID case numbers in the district, as in the general local population, continue declining, according to the SPS dashboard.
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