Kiski Area School District moving to mask-optional policy Monday

Students at Kiski Area School District will be able to choose whether to mask up or not when they go to school Monday.

The district announced it will institute a mask-optional policy, effective Monday, after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday affirmed a lower court ruling that Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam did not have the authority to issue a mask mandate for K-12 schools.

That ruling immediately struck down the statewide mask mandate, leaving school districts to craft their own masking policies.

Because of the ruling, Kiski Area Superintendent Misty Slavic announced Saturday the school will revert to the Health and Safety Plan approved by the school board in August, before the mask mandate was enacted. Under that plan, masks are optional for students, staff and visitors at all school buildings and school grounds.

Masks required on buses

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling does not change the federal mask mandate requiring masks on school buses. Students and bus drivers still need to wear masks on buses, Slavic said in a letter to families. Students will be allowed to take their masks off after they leave their bus.

The district will continue following the Health and Safety Plan’s protocols in regard to physical distancing, handwashing, cleaning, ventilation, contract tracing and quarantines.

“As always, the Kiski Area School District will continue to follow state and federal guidelines regarding the safety and health of our students and staff, and we ask for your patience as we navigate through this challenging time in education,” Slavic wrote in the letter.

The mask debate has been contentious at many local school districts, including Kiski Area. During a three-day protest in September, students and parents implored the district to make masks optional in spite of Beam’s mandate, and a petition asking for masks to be made optional garnered more than 500 signatures.