COVID causing higher than usual absences in some KY schools. Could masks come back?

Kentucky education officials are getting reports of higher than usual student absences early this school year and COVID appears to be a significant factor, said Kentucky Department of Education spokesperson Toni Konz Tatman.

The typical daily attendance for any one school district is about 95%. Some districts are reporting 80 to 85%, or as low as 70%, Tatman said.

The data is not confirmed or collected in any systematic way but are personal accounts received from district leaders either during visits or individual conversations.

Going back to mandatory masking is not the answer, Tatman said. Kentucky schools have reached an endemic phase with COVID-19, meaning that the virus is widespread and being transmitted within communities.

As of September 15, 45 Kentucky counties were at a high community level — a metric determined by new cases and hospital admissions per 100,000 people (seven-day totals) and the percentage of occupied COVID-19 hospital beds (a seven-day average). The CDC updates the guidance weekly and recommends individuals mask up when indoors in counties where the community level is high, the Herald-Leader has reported.

“Masking at school when no other precautions are being taken elsewhere in the community will have a limited effect because students and their family members can still contract the virus in any other interaction in the community,” said Tatman.

She said there are now widespread and effective vaccines and treatments available, and the current variants of the virus are less deadly than the original virus.

This is especially so for children, who have always been at lesser risk from COVID-19, Tatman said.

Presently, she said Kentucky Department of Education officials are not hearing any interest in reinstating COVID-19 mitigation efforts and would not recommend action to do so given the current situation.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass said he would recommend districts continue normal school operations and learning environments, unless their student absence rates or staff absences make that impossible.

“So far, I have not heard of any district reaching a point where they are considering suspending operation,” he said.

Most of Kentucky’s counties at high were in the eastern part of the state, and Fayette and several adjacent counties were also at high.

In Fayette County, Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said, the average daily attendance for the year as of September 16 was 93.53%. Pre-COVID, he said, it averaged 94.2% at this time of year.

The average daily attendance percentage had dropped for the 2021-22 school year, Fayette district officials reported last spring.

This fall, due to the rise in COVID-19 cases across the district, Berea Independent Schools postponed the first day of school for a few days.