Monday night, the Southside School Board met in a special session at 8:30 p.m. and unanimously approved a policy requiring face coverings for students K-12 inside school facilities and on school buses.
As with some other school districts, the policy sets mask requirements based on the COVIDActNow.org scale of severity for Independence County. This guideline will be subject to adjustments based on guidelines received from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Data from the COVID Act Now site will be utilized to guide the parameters of the policy and will be reviewed weekly by the administrative team, according to the school district. At the high-risk precaution level, all staff and students in grades K-12 will be required to wear a face covering.
Scroll below for the COVID Act Now precaution levels.
The district also noted that at all levels of risk, classrooms should continue to emphasize the use of physical distancing, outdoor classrooms, and thorough disinfecting of all facilities. Southside Schools encourages all parents and guardians to screen their children for COVID symptoms, and check their temperatures before sending them to school.
Students who are identified as close contacts with a COVID-positive individual will not be required to quarantine as long as both individuals are properly wearing a face covering and are symptom-free. Fully vaccinated individuals will also not be required to quarantine as long as they remain symptom-free, the new policy states.
Other guidelines from the new policy:
Face coverings will be required while inside any school facility, school vehicles, and buses when social distancing guidelines cannot be maintained. There is no face-covering requirement for outside spaces.
Social distancing and face coverings are recommended for after-school activities.
Students shall wear face coverings at all times inside school buildings or facilities except for the following:
- Students may remove face coverings for eating or drinking
- Students may remove face-covering during outside recess and any other outside activities
- Students may remove face coverings when appropriate social distancing measures are in place
as determined by a school administrator - Students may be exempted from this policy by the school principal due to a documented medical condition of the student
- Students may remove face coverings on a case-by-case basis for specific instructional needs and
other activities, as determined by a teacher, in which case the teacher will utilize appropriate
social distancing measures - Students may be exempted from this policy due to special behavioral or individualized needs as
determined by a school administrator - Athletics, activities, and music practice, and competition are exempt from indoor masking: rigorous
exercise in P.E. or recess is exempt from indoor masking.
Preschool Face Covering Policy
- At the high-risk precaution level, preschool staff will be required to wear a face covering.
- All indoor visitors to preschool will be required to wear a face covering.
- Face coverings for preschool students will be determined by the DHS Licensing Rules. At this
time, face coverings are not required for preschool students. If requirements change, preschool
parents will be notified via Sandbox. - As age-appropriate, preschool classrooms will cohort student groups.
If you have yet to be immunized against COVID-19, White River Now urges you to talk to your trusted local physician or pharmacist about the COVID-19 vaccine.
For COVID-19 information from the Arkansas Department of Health, click here.
For information from local physicians about COVID-19 vaccines, click here.
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