State Says Vermont Students Should Wear Masks When School Resumes
Vermont students should wear masks when school starts in a few weeks, Education Secretary Dan French said Tuesday. But with no state of emergency in effect, the "guidance" from the state amounts to recommendations, and rules will be up to local school districts, he said.
Districts should ask students to wear masks regardless of vaccination status, French said at Gov. Phil Scotts weekly news conference. Later, at schools where 80 percent of students over age 12 and staff have received at least one dose of vaccine, the guidance calls for districts to allow vaccinated students and staff to remove the masks. Students under 12 arent yet eligible to be vaccinated.
French noted there wont be any social distancing in the states guidance, which is expected to be issued this week.
Masking is a good strategy at the beginning of the year as students and staff settle into patterns of full in-person instruction, he said.
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