The mask policy that was instated at the beginning of June, 2021 for the Loveland City School District occurred at a time with a very different Covid-19 landscape and is no longer a safe option for our children. Child and teen Covid-19 cases jumped 84% in our country in the week of July 22-July 29. Additionally, all counties surrounding and encompassing Loveland, OH have now been labeled as 'high risk' for Covid-19 transmission by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

At a time when the Delta variant, a much more highly transmissible virus is spreading throughout our country and local counties, we need to reinstate a universal masking policy; a policy that kept our staff, students, and families safe last year. In-person learning is extremely important for the mental and developmental well-being of our children and by abandoning a prominent safety precaution, we run the risk of not only widespread illness, but quarantines and a return to remote learning.

While some (or all) of the staff and teachers will be vaccinated, our children under 12, as of yet, have no such option and evidence indicates that vaccinated individuals are just as likely to transmit it to others! Not only have the American Academy of Pediatrics, CDC, and the Ohio Department of Health recommended universal masking in schools (as transmission is GREATLY reduced if everyone is wearing a mask), so have local medical professionals, including Cincinnati Children's Hospital and the Cincinnati Pediatric Society. School should be a safe place for children. We need to rely on medical experts for guidance, just as we rely on educational professionals to teach our children. By leaving the decision of mask wearing to the parent or guardian we are blatantly and brazenly ignoring the advice of medical professionals and discounting the health and well-being of our students.