Fort Smith district students, staff to wear masks

FORT SMITH — Fort Smith School District students and employees will be disciplined for not wearing a mask or face covering at school.

The Fort Smith School Board unanimously voted to adopt a mask policy for students and staff last week.

This comes after Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed an executive order stating that the secretary of health would issue a public health directive requiring everyone in Arkansas to wear face coverings in all public places where physical distancing is not possible while exempting certain people. The order and health directive went into effect Monday.

An abstract regarding the mask policy that was included in the meeting materials stated that changes were made to a draft policy on face coverings the school board previously discussed during a work session July 13 to align with the executive order and health directive.

Classes start Aug. 24. Fort Smith School District Superintendent Doug Brubaker said the mask policy came about after consulting with district staff, the community and the district’s Ready to Learn Committee.

The policy states that all students in kindergarten through 12th grade will be required to wear a mask or face covering that covers their nose and mouth at all times. This applies both while attending school or a school function in any school building, district facility or other area of a school campus or the district’s grounds, and when riding in school-provided transportation. It also applies to students waiting outside school buildings before and after school and at bus stops.

However, the following exceptions are also in place:

▪ Students may remove masks and face coverings for eating or drinking, and when appropriate social-distancing measures are in place as determined by a teacher or school administrator.

▪ Students may be exempted from this policy by the school principal as a result of a documented medical condition or disability.

▪ Students may remove masks and face coverings on a caseby-case basis for specific instructional needs, including physical education activities, as determined by a teacher, in which case the teacher will require appropriate social-distancing measures to the extent possible.

▪ Students may remove masks and face coverings while participating in athletic activities where a 6-foot distance cannot be achieved but a mask is inhibitory to the activity or active exercise.

▪ Students may be exempted from the policy due to special behavioral or individualized needs as determined by the director of special education or the executive director of student services.

▪ Students who refuse to wear a mask or face covering at school or at a school function under the policy will be subject to discipline consistent with district policy and exclusion from on-site instruction, the policy states.

All Fort Smith School District employees will be required to wear a mask or face covering as well while working or attending a school function in any school building, district facility or other area of a school campus or the district’s grounds, according to the policy.

This also comes with cerFORT tain exceptions:

▪ Employees may remove masks and face coverings for eating and drinking and when appropriate social-distancing measures are in place.

▪ Employees may remove masks and face coverings when a 6-foot distance cannot be achieved but a mask is inhibitory to the ability to perform a job duty safely and effectively.

▪ Employees may remove masks and face coverings while participating in athletic activities where a 6-foot distance cannot be achieved but a mask is inhibitory to the activity or active exercise.

▪ Employees may be exempted from this policy by the school principal or superintendent due to a documented medical condition or disability.

▪ Employees who refuse to wear a mask or face covering at school or at a school function under this policy will be subject to discipline consistent with district policy, suspension without pay and/or termination, the policy states.

The school board at the July 20 meeting also unanimously voted to adopt an emergency declaration resolution that waives the bidding requirement for the purchase of personal protective equipment and covid-19 response products for the school district.

An abstract states that the district’s needs related to personal protective equipment and other covid-19 response products, including its “anti-virus foggers,” may rapidly change as the upcoming school year progresses. The resolution would allow these items to be procured on an as-needed emergency basis through June 2021.

Brubaker said the school district has had to buy a considerable amount of personal protective equipment to prepare for the year, with the district seeing those needs change over the summer.

“In light of that, the state School Boards Association came out with a draft resolution, an emergency declaration that would allow the district to acquire PPE without going through the typical procurement methods,” Brubaker said. “And some of the things that they talk about, but it’s not limited to those, are hand sanitizer, Lysol, masks, gloves, sanitizing wipes, fogging equipment and chemicals, gowns and face shields.”