State education association recommends mask requirements to keep schools open

The organization that represents schoolteachers and staff in Pennsylvania said state schools are “at a crossroads,” and it is recommending that schools require masks for staff and students as a way of mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and the delta variant to ensure a seamless in-person school year from start to finish.

“Masking up is essential to keeping in- person learning going all year,” Rich Askey, the Pennsylvania State Education Association president and a music teacher, said in a statement. “We know that safe in-person instruction is the best setting for students to learn. For that reason, PSEA wants to see every school in the state start the school year in person, continue in person and finish in person. That will be impossible if schools have to close their doors because of a rapid spread of this virus.”

The emergence of the delta variant is yet another reason to wear masks, Mr. Askey said.

“Masking up at school is essential in the face of the surging delta variant that affects young people more aggressively than the original strain of the virus,” he said. “This is a particular concern when you consider that roughly two-thirds of students have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine.

“We are at a crossroads, and what our schools decide now will set the stage for what this school year looks like. If we’re going to be able to keep our schools open for in-person instruction all year, we need to make the right decisions now.”

The PSEA represents about 178,000 active and retired educators and school employees, student teachers, higher education staff and health care workers in Pennsylvania.