Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
FAYETTEVILLE School District will require masks.
Some exceptions will be available
FAYETTEVILLE — The School Board on Thursday unanimously approved requiring all students and employees to wear a mask or face covering unless “appropriate social distancing” measures are in place.
The policy applies to those attending school or a school function in any school building, facility or other area of a school campus and while riding in school buses.
Any student who refuses to follow the rule will be required to leave school. Those who refuse to wear a face covering on a bus will be subject to board policy on student conduct while riding a bus.
Students may remove their face covering to eat or drink and when a teacher or school administrator determines they can maintain appropriate social distancing. Students also may be exempted because of a medical condition or special behavioral or individual needs.
Employees may be exempted from the policy by a principal or the superintendent if they have a documented medical condition. They also may remove their face covering on a case-bycase basis for instructional reasons, said Chris Lawson, the district’s general counsel.
The Springdale School Board approved a similar policy Tuesday. The Bentonville and Rogers school boards are expected to vote on face-covering policies next week.
Fayetteville approved its policy just hours before Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced an executive order requiring people 10 years old and older to wear masks in public when physical distancing isn’t possible, with some exceptions.
Fayetteville school officials this week announced they will not offer in-person instruction five days per week as they had planned. Instead, students may choose either an entirely online model of education or a hybrid of in-person and online instruction, where students will go to school two days per week and spend three days at home doing school online.
Students in the hybrid model with last names beginning with A through L will attend school Monday and Wednesday; students with last names beginning with M through Z will attend school Tuesday and Thursday. Fridays will be an online learning day for all students, according to the district. Families must make their choice of either online school or the hybrid model by Sunday.
Hutchinson said he felt Fayetteville’s approach to the school year strayed from the state’s Ready for Learning plan.
“Fayetteville, to me, got off the track at least as to what I hoped for, and that is that we start our school this year with in-classroom instruction,” Hutchinson said. “That’s the first option.”
John L Colbert, Fayetteville’s superintendent, said he walked through the schools and tried to figure out how to keep students and staff members safe with the majority of students attending school at the same time.
“I couldn’t,” Colbert said. “Yes, I want (students) to come back to school, but at the same time I have to think about the safety of the kids and the teachers.”
The district didn’t consult with state officials about its hybrid model, Colbert said.
Also during Thursday’s meeting, the School Board adopted a policy on covid-19 screenings. The policy states appropriate screenings shall be implemented for all students, employees and visitors to the schools, “with particular compliance with the official screening questions and temperature-detecting requirements issued by the Arkansas Department of Health.”
The frequency, manner and place of such screenings shall be implemented under the direction of the director of health services, in keeping with the recommendations of state and federal health officials.
Board President Nika Waitsman, in a statement released by the district, said the board fully supports both policies adopted Thursday.
“We believe these measures will be effective in helping protect our Fayetteville Public Schools family, particularly those in vulnerable situations,” she said.