MERIDIAN, Idaho — The West Ada School District announced Friday that masks will continue to be required for students, teachers and staff while in the classroom. This comes two weeks after the school board voted to extend the mask mandate through Oct. 8.
Additionally, the school board is set to hold a special board meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 13 to discuss COVID-19 protocols for the remainder of the school year and "on indicators that will be used to make a decision on returning to a mask optional environment," according to the district website.
West Ada did not clarify how long the mask mandate will be in place.
The mask mandate originally went into effect on Sept. 10, 2021. The board said they would reassess the COVID-19 situation within the district every two weeks and make a decision based on the data. The board voted to extend the mask mandate another two weeks on Sept. 24.
About two weeks after the West Ada School District issued a face mask requirement that students, teachers and staff could opt out of, the district is suspended the opt-out option until Sept. 24.
In an email sent to parents throughout the district, West Ada Superintendent Dr. Derek Bub said the delta variant is disrupting the district's daily operations, and the state's current case and hospitalization rate made it necessary to revise the district's current COVID-19 safety plan.
Before the exemption was reversed, 32% of the 40,353 students in the district - 12,912 kids - were formally exempted from wearing a mask in the classroom.
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