Schools Expect Masks, No Vaccine Mandates

When students return to public school next month in Hamden and New Haven, they will need a mask to enter — but they won’t necessarily need to have received Covid-19 shots.

And they won’t have remote-learning options.

That is the thrust of a draft New Haven Public Schools NHPS Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan that will be reviewed and updated every six months this school year to keep up to date with federal and state Covid-19 safety guidelines in the future.

The evolving plans in are similar in Hamden. Both communities’ academic year starts Aug. 30. Charter Amistad High School is also requiring masks and not requiring vaccines, while consulting with the state aboutremote options, according to spokesperson Amanda Pinto.

Not everyone in New Haven is on board with requiring masks — or not requiring vaccines — as debate over those issues promises to continue playing out in coming weeks.

State Guidance

Meanwhile, local districts are waiting on more guidance from the state. State officials do not anticipate suggesting a vaccination mandate, but do look to urge that masks be worn.

Peter Yazbak, the director of communications for the Connecticut State Department of Education, said that the CSDE is still working with the Connecticut Department of Health to develop a standardized guide that will direct schools across the state how to keep students, staff and families healthy. That will include a series of strategies for coronavirus mitigation within the classroom.

“Achieving and maintaining high vaccination coverage in schools is the best tool we have to make sure that the school year is free from interruption and disruption from outbreaks,” he said. Vaccines will not be required in order for individuals to return to schools in the fall. But, Yazbak said, the state intends to continue expanding on-site clinics within schools that will encourage ongoing testing and heighten access to the vaccine for those aged 12 and up. Yazbak added that summer and fall events aimed at youth, such as fairs and baseball games, will also be targeted for testing and vaccine pop-ups, and raffle prizes and concert tickets will be used as incentives.

While CDC guidelines assert that anyone who is unvaccinated should wear a mask indoors, state guidelines concerning mask-wearing have not yet been released. Lora Rae Anderson, director of communications for the state chief operating officer, said that the governor’s school mask protocol will be released in ​“the coming weeks” along with those broader Covid-19 mitigation guidelines. Currently, no state advice has been issued concerning whether or not students, staff, and faculty should wear masks in school or regarding how schools should go about determining who is or is not vaccinated.

While distanced-schooling opportunities were required last school year for individuals who wished to opt-out of in-person learning or instruction, the state has said that there will not be a mandate requiring voluntary remote options this coming year. However, in July the state established legislation requiring the development of new remote learning standards that must be implemented for K‑12 students starting in the 2022 – 2023 school year. Those guidelines will be key for determining how to uphold the rights of individuals with disabilities and health conditions who are differentially impacted by the pandemic.

View From New Haven

The NHPS plan details health and safety policies and learning acceleration and recovery strategies for grades K‑12. So far the plan says that masks will be required in common areas,ond school buses, and for all parent or contractor visitors to the school building regardless of their vaccination status.

Due to recent spikes in Covid cases and recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, masks will be required all day for students and staff, older than age 2, regardless of vaccination status, Assistant Superintendent Paul Whyte said.

Read the plan here and provide feedback here.

“We have no official way to check who has and hasn’t been vaccinated,” said Whyte.

Whyte presented the return to in-person school plan to the Board of Education (BOE) during its June 14 meeting. The plan does not have to be voted on by the board but must be reviewed every six months by the superintendent’s executive team as a part of the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Funding requirements.

The plan does not give families an option for hybrid or all-remote learning. Technology instead will be used in the classroom or at home for supplemental learning.

Under the plan, schools will use use video conferencing to hold most meetings, school buses will be disinfected twice a day, all schools will be deep cleaned in the evenings daily, and mental health access and behavioral support will be expanded to support students and staff. NHPS will enlist three counselors, six care coordinators, two restorative coaches, three social workers, and three psychologists.

Tech devices will also be refreshed and repaired to be redistributed to all students. On snow days the superintendent will choose whether there will be an early dismissal, full closure, or remote learning day.

NHPS isn’t currently planning to put a vaccination mandate in place as have some colleges and universities, like Yale. ​“We would only have a requirement if it was a state mandate,” said Whyte.

BOE student representatives Anthony Fiore and Ma’Shai Roman agreed they wanted a school year ​“as normal as possible.” This year Fiore will be a senior at High School in the Community; Roman will be a junior at Engineering and Science University Magnet School (ESUMS).

“High school students are able to be vaccinated, so I think we could be lax with some of the standards,” Fiore said.

Roman said she believes vaccinated students and staff shouldn’t have to wear masks during the school day. ​“Other places don’t require masks, so why not be consistent?” she said.

“They seen what happened last year when they were too cautious. It caused all these students to fall behind,” Roman said.

Whyte said the plan will remain a ​“draft” for the superintendent’s executive team to keep up to date with changing state guidelines.

Sarah Miller of NHPS Advocates, a mother of two schoolchildren, argued mask use should be required by all in school buildings. ​“You don’t know who is actually vaccinated,” she noted.

Miller said all of the schools need to operate under ​“clear, consistent, and logical protocols” rather than leaving it up to each school to establish individual policies.

She added that she would support a vaccine mandate if legally possible. ​“Just like the flu vaccine is required, Covid should be as well,” she said.

BOE member Darnell Goldson said remote learning should be an option for families who don’t want to get vaccinated.

“The legislature should pass a law that requires folks who enter school buildings to be vaccinated,” he said. ​“We already agree on required vaccinations for other diseases like the flu.”

Goldson argued that smaller class sizes and more teachers for all grade levels is the key to aiding learning acceleration and recovery strategies.

There are several strategies in the plan for disengaged youth and multilingual learners.

Additional teachers will be hired for grades 1 – 3 for smaller class sizes to accelerate learning. Group work and classroom cohorts will be implemented for all grade levels.

“We’re excited to get the kids back and create as normal a school year as possible,” said Whyte.

City Wide Parent Team President Nijija-Ife Waters is undecided on whether or not it is safe enough to send her 11-year old son, who has life-threatening allergies, back to school in- person next month. Waters said she has received no response from the district requesting information about the school year’s medical contingency plan. ​“The pandemic is still amongst us, and there are high risk kids that can’t or don’t want to get vaccinated,” Waters said. ​“Will they all have to be medically homebound because they’re high risk and the district isn’t offering a plan for them too?”

Waters’ son, who is going into the 6th grade at East Rock Community Magnet School, has life-threatening allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, berries, fish, eggs, and several medicines (include an ingredient in the flu vaccine). Waters is worried about food accommodations for students with life-threatening allergies and maintenance of the schools’ air-quality filters.

The View From Hamden

Hamden Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler said that throughout the coming school year Hamden will look on a ​“week-to-week” basis to the State Departments of Education and Public Health as well as the Quinnipiack Valley Health District to determine which behavioral guidelines should be implemented across Hamden’s schools.

While Goeler is, like everyone else, waiting to hear from the state regarding mask protocol, he said he imagines all teachers, staff, and students will be required to wear masks this coming school year.

He noted that it is currently impossible to know how many and which school members are vaccinated because requesting such information currently violates individuals’ privacy rights.

Though the governor has not discussed making vaccinations mandatory, Goeler said that were that to become the case, Covid-19 would be treated in the same way other diseases, such as Rubella, currently are. In other words, students who do not receive the vaccine would simply not be allowed to come to school. ​“There has to be a strict line drawn,” Goeler said, adding that the schools do not want to be responsible for one child getting sick because another was allowed to ignore state protocol.

Goeler published a comprehensive ​“reopening plan” on June 23, which details some of the impacts the pandemic is expected to have on daily school operations. At this point in time, it states that all adults and students will be required to wear masks in public school buildings and buses, and that staff are expected to ​“model appropriate mask-wearing and reinforce mask-wearing for all students.” The reopening guide also includes a ​“mask non-compliance plan,” which instructs teachers on how to correct students when they are wearing a mask incorrectly or not at all.

Sue Smey, the director of media, assessment and intervention at Hamden Public Schools, said that the number of elementary students enrolled for this coming year is so far identical to last year’s number. She said that enrollment for older students is currently inaccessible as the school system is in the process of preparing itsstudent information system for next year.

In lieu of data and state guidelines, Smey said, Hamden schools are currently wondering: ​“Will students who left to be homeschooled last year return next year? Will a continued mask mandate impact enrollment? As more young adults are vaccinated, will they return?”