The PA Supreme Court threw out the mask mandate for schools, effective last Friday (12/10). This means that the decision of whether to mandate masks in schools now rests solely on the school boards.
On Friday, TESD stated, "As of now, TESD’s local Health and Safety Plan remains in effect and mandates masks while indoors on school property. TESD will review our Health and Safety Plan in January 2022 in accordance with PDE guidelines."
Already, the TESD school board is receiving emails from parents threatening to send their children to school without masks. Now is not the time to ease up on masking, as COVID cases are rapidly increasing in not only in Chester County, but also in TESD schools.
What can you do?
1. Send an email to gusickr@tesd.net, schoolboard@tesd.net, groppec@tesd.net, and TECovidFeedback@tesd.net telling them that you support continued mask mandates in our schools, regardless of vaccination status. Copy the Chester County Health Department at cchd@chesco.org. [At the end of this update is an email template for your convenience]
2. Encourage your friends, family and fellow community members to voice their support of continued masking to the school board and Chester County Health Department.
In this politicized world, we cannot assume that rational facts and science will prevail. Your voice is needed.
-----------
Email template - Please, feel free to customize and personalize. Note: you must include your name and township for the school board to recognize the email.
To: gusickr@tesd.net, schoolboard@tesd.net, groppec@tesd.net, tecovidfeedback@tesd.net, cchd@chesco.org
Subject: Support of continued mask mandate in TESD schools
Dear Dr. Gusick, Dr. Groppe, TESD School Board, and CCHD,
I am writing to voice my support for a continued mask mandate in all TESD schools, regardless of vaccination status. With cases increasing in our county and our school district and Omicron spreading rapidly, now is not the time to make masks optional. The only way we can keep our students in school, in person, as safely as possible is with mandatory masking. The only way we can keep our vulnerable community members safe is with mandatory masking.
We appreciate that the TESD school board has recognized the importance of a universal mask mandate for TESD schools thus far, and we implore you to continue to do so, until medical guidance and data shows that changes can be made.
Thank you,
[Your name]
{Your township]