Wearing masks during the pandemic has been a hotly debated topic, and the discussion has extended to the province’s back-to-school plan.
The province announced on Wednesday that students will be required to wear masks on school buses, but not in classes.
High school students will also be exempt from the directive unless physical distancing rules cannot be followed.
Education Minister Zach Churchill says they’re not taking a punitive approach to students who may refuse to wear one.
“It’s really about educating them and informing them why it’s important,” he explained. “Health and safety is a shared responsibility and I think our students are, and can be, responsible citizens. If they know why this is important I do think they will do it to protect themselves and their loved ones and people they care about.”
The Minister reiterated that stakeholders including the IWK and Public Health provided their input for the plan, and the goal is a balance between risk mitigation and ensuring an optimal learning environment.
Students will return to classes on September 8th, and there are contingencies should the pandemic flare up again.
Churchill explained that the government has secured devices to support students with limited access to technology should they move to an at-home learning model.
He says they’ll also be bringing in new standards and expectations for instruction so that learning will be consistent from class to class and school to school.
PC Education critic Tim Halman says the plan offers no certainty for parents, particularly surrounding what circumstances will trigger a
potential move to at-home learning or a blended model.
Churchill says any changes to the learning plan will be at the direction of Public Health officials.
“Any time there is a known case of COVID-19, Public Health does an investigation which includes contact tracing and they do a risk assesment and provide a judgement on the situation and give us recommendations to respond.”
Churchill added that the government is also hiring more specialists to support students with special needs for the upcoming year.
