By Steve Bittenbender
(The Center Square) – Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear did not issue a mandate Monday for masks in schools. However, he and the state education commissioner presented a “united front” in giving district leaders a strong recommendation with classes starting in the coming weeks.
Their advice, announced during a Monday afternoon press conference, urged the districts to require all adults and students to wear a mask while in classrooms and other indoor settings. Beshear and Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass said such a policy would greatly reduce any chance for academic or athletic disruptions during the year.
That recommendation comes as Kentucky, along with other states, is starting to see COVID-19 cases begin to increase again, thanks mainly to the presence of the delta variant, a COVID-19 strain that’s more than twice as transmissible as the original strain that started the pandemic more than 16 months ago.
It also was on top of their calls for schools to require all unvaccinated students and unvaccinated adults to wear masks in classrooms and indoor settings as well as a recommendation that all students under 12 – the age cutoff for the currently available vaccines – wear masks indoors at school.
“If we don’t take mitigation efforts, if school districts don’t embrace mitigation efforts, we are not going to be in school every day,” the governor said.
Kentucky reported 783 new COVID cases on Monday and a positivity rate of nearly 7.9%. After 30 days of positivity rate growth, the governor said the state is seeing trends regarding the spread in the state since March.
Glass said the recommendations are “necessary precautions” derived from guidance given by state and federal health officials.
He added that the advice is not that different from what was required last spring as schools reopened.
“You’ve already proven and shown what many thought was impossible – in keeping schools open and keeping them safe,” Glass said. “And we’re going to need that same effort.”
The governor added issuing a statewide mandate is “not off the table” if the virus continues to spread and school systems choose not to respond.
Prior to the press conference, some Kentucky districts were already taking steps to put in place their own policies. Four of the seven members of the Jefferson County Board of Education, the state’s largest district, told WDRB-TV last Friday they were in favor everyone wearing masks, though there was some difference on whether it should be a mandate or just a recommendation.
On Monday, The Courier-Journal reported that Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio would recommend it be a requirement.
The board is set to meet Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Monday was the first day on the job for Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Demetrus Liggins. He told reporters he wants to get with health officials before making a decision for Kentucky’s second-largest district.
“The last thing we want to do is to release information and then have to change it,” he said.
