Masks back to optional at Plateau schools as Inslee’s order expires

Additionally, neither Enumclaw or White River school districts are looking to impose their own vaccine mandates, if or when those also end.

By Ray Miller-Still • March 16, 2022 10:11 am
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The Enumclaw and White River school districts have made mask-wearing in classrooms optional, given the state mandate has lifted. Students are still expected to wear masks in highly specific situations, like in a nurse’s office. Photo courtesy Enumclaw School District
The Enumclaw and White River school districts have made mask-wearing in classrooms optional, given the state mandate has lifted. Students are still expected to wear masks in highly specific situations, like in a nurse’s office. Photo courtesy Enumclaw School District

Two years and two weeks after Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency over a strange new respiratory virus, Plateau students this week are, for the first time this school year, walking back into a masks-optional world.

Of course, no one is under the illusion that everyone has complied with the rules. Debate over compulsory mask wearing has been fierce, with a January Enumclaw School District survey finding parents nearly evenly divided over whether students and staff should wear masks in school to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

But this is a major moment in the COVID-19 pandemic: Cases and death rates have tumbled since January, 80 percent of Washingtonians are now vaccinated, and state leaders feel it’s safe enough to ratchet the restrictions back.

So it’s now on the books. Starting March 12, with three months left in the school year, masks became optional nearly everywhere at school for staff and students across Washington.

A few exceptions exist, such as in nurse’s rooms, in some cases when someone returns to school after catching the virus, and targeting of specific outbreaks of the disease. (Here’s a 19-page Department of Health document detailing all the specifics.)

The new guidance suggests students “consider” wearing masks on school busses and when performing in high-mouth-spray activities like choir, band, cheer or speech and debate, but the rules still don’t require masks in those cases.

And whether you wear a mask or not, your fellow students and teachers should respect that decision, DOH said.

“Some students will be relieved and happy, but others may feel anxious and not ready for the changes,” DOH said in the guidance document. “It will be important to provide support and guidance for students, to allow time for them to adjust … and to offer permission for youth and staff to continue to wear masks or physically distance if they feel uncomfortable with the changes.”

Schools and local governments can enact their own rules around masking, but neither Enumclaw nor White River schools have indicated they’ll do so. At least in the Plateau, the decision to wear a mask or not will be up to the individual.

“Many in our community and schools may choose to continue to wear masks to protect the health of themselves and their family as well as those around them,” WRSD Superintendent Janel Keating Hambly said in a recent email to parents. “We expect everyone in our schools to respect the choices of those around them. “

”We are very excited to take this next step toward normality. However, we recognize many students, families and staff may feel excited and happy while others may feel anxious or uncomfortable,” said ESD Superintendent Dr. Shaun Carey in a newsletter to parents. “In this time of transition we will continue to provide support and understanding for all in our learning community.”

Across the state, a few requirements from the Department of Health remain for schools and child care facilities:

1. Although general mask use is now optional, masks must still be worn in school nurses offices and isolation rooms.

2. COVID-19 cases must continue to be tracked and reported, and the community must be kept informed about cases and outbreaks.

3. People with COVID-19 or symptoms of the disease must stay home (and if you test positive, quarantine for five days).

4. Schools must provide testing and safe isolation facilities for students and staff who develop symptoms and those who may be exposed to the virus.

5. Staff are still under the Governor’s vaccine mandate for state employees, which requires them to either be fully vaccinated or obtain an exemption.

Inslee press secretary Mike Faulk said in an email March 9 that “there is not currently an end date for the vaccine mandate. We believe it continues to serve the public well.”

Asked whether employees who were dismissed for vaccinating could re-apply for their old job when the mandate ends, Faulk said: “In the event of it [the mandate] being lifted in the future, the result would be employees and prospective employees would no longer need to show proof of vaccination for COVID.”

That’s just fine by White River: “The WRSD will not implement an independent policy regarding vaccinations,” deputy Superintendent Scott Harrison said in an email. “We will continue to follow the law. We did not dismiss any employee over the vaccine mandate, and employees who may have resigned of their own accord prior to the mandate going into effect are eligible to apply for open positions.”

(The Courier-Herald previously reported that four WRSD employees were put on “leave status” until they received full vaccination or submitted a vaccine exemption.)

The Enumclaw School District hasn’t yet discussed implementing their own vaccine mandates, but it appears unlikely this will occur.

“At this time, the Enumclaw School District is not planning/discussing requirements that would reach above and beyond the state-mandated vaccination requirements,” district Public Information Officer Jessica McCartney said in an email.

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