While some school districts will require everyone to wear face coverings when they return in the fall, the Solon Community School District is not.
According to the district’s Return to Learn plan students and staff will be strongly encouraged to wear face coverings when social distancing or other mitigation variables are hindered.
During a webinar with families on Wednesday, Superintendent Davis Eidahl said they were following reopening guidance from the Iowa Department of Education, which has recommended schools do not mandate face coverings.
Eidahl said the district believes if the requirement is put in place but not totally enforced, schools and their staffs could open themselves up to potential lawsuits.
Eidahl told families Wednesday that the expectation is still that everyone wears face coverings. Solon schools will provide a face shield to every student and staff member this year.
“I believe our building principals can handle those cases of students that haven’t bought in and immediately handle those, and we can achieve the same results as if we had gone a different direction,” Eidahl tells KCRG-TV 9.
Solon’s Return to Learn plan also calls for regular hand washing, assigned seating in classrooms and lunchrooms to keep social distancing, and staggered lunchtimes.
Solon families are able to select from two options for how their students will return to school in August: in person, five days a week, or virtually, learning from teachers who do not work in the Solon Community School District.
(Photo: KCRG-TV 9)