Trustee Fails in His Attempt to Put Mandatory Masking Back on School Board Agenda

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A trustee of Ottawa’s largest school board failed in his attempt to get his peers to debate mandatory mask wearing before classes start this fall.

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Ottawa-Carleton District School Board Trustee Lyra Evans called for a special meeting of trustees after Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced Monday that masking would be optional in Ontario schools in September.

But a majority of 12 trustees did not agree to hold the meeting, so the issue will not be discussed at this time, Evans said.

Without masks for everyone, immunocompromised students will be exposed to COVID, Evans argues. While many children participate in sports and recreational activities without a mask, that’s not a luxury for some families, Evans added.

“Because school is a necessity, we have to hold ourselves to a higher level than recreational soccer.”

In April, the Ottawa-Carleton board was one of few in Ontario to temporarily maintain the mask requirement after the province abandoned its mandate on March 21.

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At that time, eight trustees voted in favor of the motion, three abstained and one opposed.

On Tuesday, board president Lynn Scott said the board had clearly heard from Lecce that masks would not be mandatory. Although mask wearing in schools would be encouraged, it would be difficult to enforce mandatory mask wearing without a directive from the Ottawa Department of Public Health or Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore, Scott said.

Lecce has said that leading medical experts, including the Children’s Health Coalition and the Medical Officers of Health, were consulted to develop health and safety measures in schools for 2022-23. Most health and safety requirements, including the voluntary use of masks, remain unchanged from previous instructions provided at the end of last school year, following Moore’s advice, Lecce said.

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On Monday, the Ottawa Catholic School Board said it would follow Lecce’s direction and make masks optional in its schools.

Local medical health officers may issue orders under Section 22 of the Health Promotion and Protection Act to lessen or eliminate the risks of communicable diseases.

“If there is an Ottawa Public Health directive, we would follow it, just like all the others together,” Scott said. “There has to be consistency across the city.”

In a statement Tuesday, Ottawa Public Health said it had received and reviewed updated provincial guidance for the upcoming school year and was “in the process of determining how the updated guidance will change protocols that were in place during the last school year.”

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A COVID-19 snapshot for Ottawa released last Thursday showed that although virus levels in sewage were declining, they were still very high, indicating community transmission was also high. The percentage positivity rate of tests was very high and increasing, and the number of people admitted to hospital for COVID-19 had been moderate and decreasing. New confirmed outbreaks were moderate and declining, OPH said.

So far the teachers’ unions, which are in contract negotiations with the province, have not taken a position on the mandatory mask for September.

OPH continues to recommend that everyone wear layers of protection to help prevent transmission, including staying up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, wearing masks, receiving boosters, staying home when sick, and continuing to get tested. daily.

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“Provincial guidance continues to require that COVID-19 contacts wear a mask in public places, including schools, for 10 days after last exposure and that individuals who test positive for COVID-19 and comply with the criteria for discontinuing isolation after five days wear a mask in public places for 10 days after the onset of symptoms,” OPH said.

The province also expects schools and school boards to continue to monitor absentee rates and are encouraged to notify public health units if absentee rates exceed typical levels.

There’s a chance trustees might change their minds about holding a special meeting about wearing masks, Scott said.

The issue may still come up in full board committee on September 13 or at the next regular board meeting on September 28. But Evans argues that if there is going to be a mask mandate, it would be a good idea to have it ready for the new school year.

“Children are creatures of habit. It would put the kids in the mindset,” Evans said.