By Pamela Sleezer

The Vernon Parish School Board addressed on Thursday recent changes to the district’s stance on face masks for the upcoming school year and leaders were quick to point out the directives came from the state capital.

Superintendent James Williams was careful in clarifying during the board’s first session of the month that the changes put in place to require all students ages five and up to wear a face covering throughout the day while at school were based upon guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and mandated by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

“I want everybody to understand; none of these changes were made by me or anybody in this room, and certainly not by anybody on this school board,” Williams stated.

“Any opinions that are opposed to these rules need to be taken to Baton Rouge, because that’s where they came from. Right now, we have to follow the rules put in place,” he went on to say.

Williams’ comments came as the panel received the most updated guidance from the state regarding face coverings for students and school employees, as well as quarantine protocols.

For the most part, the district’s policies will remain as they were when the 2020-2021 school year ended earlier this year. While temperature checks and screenings have been removed, social distancing of six feet will remain in place along with the face mask requirement for students five years and up. Last year, only students in third grade and up were required to wear face coverings. All students, even those under five, will also be required to wear face masks while riding school transportation this year.

Williams acknowledged that there were tensions and “a lot of push back” against the mask mandate, but that the School Board had no authority to override the governor’s order.

“This School Board was under the opinion last month, or up until last week to be honest with you, that masks would be optional and this school board agreed to let parents decide what is best for their own kids and not somebody else, but that changed with the governor’s orders,” Williams stated.

Williams further explained that in order for the school board to be protected under legislation enacted last year to protect school systems from lawsuits related to Covid-19, they must be in compliance with the governor’s orders.

According to guidance provided to the school board during Thursday’s meeting, there will be no quarantine required this year of students who are considered a “close contact” to another student who tests positive for Covid-19, so long as both students were properly masked. It was a move Williams applauded saying that last year “the flood gates were opened” in regards to quarantining students each time a school experienced a positive test.

While quarantine limits have been reduced from 14 days to 10 days for this school year, students will still be forced to refrain from participating in school sports and athletic programs for the full 14 days.

That guidance became somewhat unclear to some school board members when discussing the Covid-19 vaccination status of students.

New protocols do not require any quarantine time for students considered a close contact, regardless of whether they were masked or unmasked during the exposure, if they are vaccinated against Covid-19. As of Tuesday’s meeting, there is no guidance stating whether schools are permitted to ask for proof of vaccination, leaving many requesting further clarification on those protocols.

Vernon Parish schools are set to open for the 2021-2022 school year on Aug. 20.