Bill ditching mask mandates for KY schools and daycare centers gains momentum

Hours after the Kentucky General Assembly began a special session Tuesday to deal with COVID-19 policies, the Senate Education Committee approved a bill that rejects the Beshear Administration’s emergency regulations requiring universal masking of people age two or older in K-12 schools and daycare centers.

Senate Bill 1 declares the regulations requiring masks in schools and daycare centers null and void.

The bill, approved by the committee with a 8-5 vote, now goes to the full Senate. Lawmakers who voted no voiced concerns about lifting the mask mandates at a time when transmission of COVID-19 and resulting hospitalizations are at an all-time high in Kentucky.

Education Committee Chairman Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, said individual school boards will be free to decide their own policies about masking in schools.

Wise said the bill would become law as soon as Gov. Andy Beshear signs it or the legislature overrides his veto, given that it is considered emergency legislation.

Under the bill, a school district may temporarily assign students at the school, grade, classroom, or student group level to remote instruction due to significant absences of students or staff related to COVID-19 until December 31, 2021.

With prior authorization from the local board of education, the decision to temporarily assign students to remote instruction would be at the discretion of the superintendent. The temporary assignment to remote instruction could be no longer than is necessary to alleviate student and staff absences due to COVID-19.

Remote instruction could be provided to a particular school, grade, classroom, or group of students for up to 20 days. No school district could utilize remote instruction under this section of the bill for more than 20 days. A school district could not temporarily assign every student in the district to remote instruction under this section unless all students in the school district are located in a single school facility.

Students temporarily assigned to remote instruction would have to receive at least the minimum daily instruction required under state law.

School districts would continue to have the ability to institute remote learning across an entire district for up to 10 days during the school year.

House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said the bill provides “the flexibility that schools asked for.”

“What they hoped to avoid was the necessity of shutting down an entire district out of an isolated situation,” he said. “What this does is allow them to keep the vast majority of their students in school if there is an outbreak.”

The bill also says that within 14 days of the effective date of the law, the Department for Public Health must develop a COVID-19 “test to stay” model school plan that may be implemented by school districts to minimize the impact of quarantining non-symptomatic students and staff.

The model plan must include, as an alternative to quarantining, an on-site testing option that allows non-symptomatic students with school-related COVID-19 exposures to remain at school by testing negative for COVID-19 for a certain number of days following exposure.

The model plan must provide guidance for contact tracing and quarantining based on whether or not exposed individuals were masked, non-masked, or fully vaccinated.

A school district’s local health department must provide assistance in implementing a school district’s test-to-stay plan, or any other local school board-approved COVID-19 plan for masking, contact tracing, and quarantining, including the location and procurement of resources.

Each school district could develop an incentive plan for staff and students to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. A school district could not use intimidation tactics or negative incentives to encourage vaccinations.

When a school district utilizes a nontraditional instruction plan day due to COVID-19, all certified staff and any classified staff designated by the district shall be required to perform work duties on-site except for employees quarantined due to COVID-19 who the district determines can fulfill their job duties remotely.

The proposed legislation includes measures making it easier to find substitute teachers and teachers, providing opportunities for retired teachers to return to work.

In August, members of a Kentucky legislative panel rejected emergency regulations put forth by the Beshear Administration that require most people in public schools and daycare centers to wear masks to protect against COVID-19.

The lawmakers’ move did not strike down the regulations but sent them back to Gov. Andy Beshear to withdraw them, amend them or leave them the same.

Beshear did not withdraw them.

A meeting of the House Education Committee is set for Wednesday.

State Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington, said that “masks work” and the regulation requiring masks in daycare centers and public schools should continue.

Thomas said removing the mask policy was “irresponsible” and “bad policy.”

Wise said he thought school districts are capable of making their own decisions.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said Beshear had ample opportunity to weigh in on the proposed bill, although his suggestions might not have been accepted.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass said in a statement Tuesday after the meeting that he had significant concerns about the bill.

“The current bill does not go far enough in providing the flexibility in different school models that (our districts) need to support continued school operations given the disruptions you are currently experiencing due to COVID-19 outbreaks and quarantining,”Glass said. “Further, the politically motivated effort to remove masking requirements in public schools flies in the face of virus mitigation efforts at the very time they are needed most.”

Fayette school board chairman Tyler Murphy, before the meeting, encouraged families to contact their lawmakers.

“Our experience in the past few weeks is a reminder that local districts need flexibility and support to keep our students, staff, and families safe and to address critical staff shortages. And we need a meaningful, combined effort statewide to address this surge because schools can’t stop a pandemic alone,” Murphy said in a social media post.

This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 12:52 PM.