Mask restrictions eased for Rock Hill students weeks into COVID-19 school year
Students and staff in Rock Hill schools will now have mask breaks during certain situations throughout the day.
Four weeks after the district’s first day of school, the Board of Trustees approved a new mask-wearing policy in a 6-1 vote.
This new rule eases some restrictions from the original mask policy instituted for the beginning of the school year — which originally said mealtimes, outdoor recess and specific medical emergencies are the only instances when masks could be removed.
Here are when masks may be removed now, in addition to the instances aforementioned:
▪ Pre-kindergarten students during naptime
▪ Elementary school students for up to 10 minutes each hour during the school day
▪ Middle and high school students for up to 10 minutes during each period/block
▪ Students in physical education classes when maintaining six feet social distance is possible
▪ Students in band class where instruments require the use of a mouthpiece
▪ Faculty and staff when they’re in their office/classroom alone
The policy says Superintendent Bill Cook has “discretion to lessen the number and duration of mask breaks or to eliminate mask breaks entirely on a district-wide, school or classroom level.”
The board took up the issue of its mask-wearing policy before the school year started and opted for a “conservative approach,” adding that the board should reassess the policy as the school year and community spread of the virus evolved.
“I think our goal needs to be to get to five-day-a-week in-person education,” school board trustee Robin Owens said in Monday’s meeting.
“I think all of us do agree on that. And I know the administration has expressed that as well. ... I will be supporting this policy tonight because I don’t believe that short-term mask breaks will hurt us on the road to getting us (there).”
Research shows that masks play a key role in preventing the spread of the coronavirus along with social distancing and hand washing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization recommend wearing face coverings when social distancing and staying 6 feet away from others isn’t possible.
The City of Rock Hill requires face coverings, as do many places in the state.
Trustee Brent Faulkenberry repeated a concern he has had since the issue first came up. He said allowing more mask breaks during the day will only derail the district’s goal of providing five-day, in-person instruction to Rock Hill students.
Faulkenberry was the lone dissenting vote on Monday.
“I just don’t feel like it moves us toward making sure we can get to five-day quicker,” Faulkenberry said. “I want us to be at five-day because I think our town needs it. Our kids need it. For mental health reasons. Social reasons. Our families need to be back at work.
“I think we need to have a five-day option, and to me, the 10-minute mask break policy ... it just doesn’t lend itself toward getting us there faster.”
As of Sept. 20, two of three metrics published by the Rock Hill school district deem the spread of COVID-19 in York County as “high.” More specifically, 13.2% of people who have been tested with a molecular swab in the last two weeks in York County have received a positive coronavirus test, and the number of new cases in the prior two weeks per 100,000 people has increased. Over 10% is considered “high,” health officials say.
Since the first day of school on Sept. 8, 12 students and seven staff in the district have tested positive for coronavirus, and 82 students and 22 staff members have quarantined, according to the Rock Hill school district’s online dashboard.
‘We’re watching Fort Mill’
The board has received input from district faculty, staff and teachers, and Rock Hill schools have installed desk shields — plexiglass walls in-between desks — in classrooms to prevent the spread of the virus.
Many board members appeared to feel more comfortable easing the facial covering policy because of the screens.
“With us now adding those screens and everything, it’s asking a lot and it’s (boxing) our teachers and principals in many areas, when I think they should be allowed to make those decisions,” trustee Mildred Douglas said.
“We know that each school is different,” Douglas said. “So they’re going to have different rules and different standards as well. And because of that, we should allow them to be able to make those decisions.”
Rock Hill schools have been on an “A/B” schedule — where half the students attend school inside the building on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the other half do so on Wednesdays and Fridays.
On Monday, the Fort Mill School District began its five-day-a-week, in-person instruction, the first district in York County to do so after weeks of operating on a “hybrid” or “A/B” schedule.
“I think overall, this is what we need to do, and it’s the only way we can do it at this point,” trustee Terry Hutchinson said in the meeting. “We’re watching Fort Mill at the moment.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 8:52 PM.
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