Boise, ID -- 02/17/2022 -- The Boise School Board has approved an updated Health & Safety Plan that, among other things, makes masks optional but not immediately. Implementation of the plan will be based on the following criteria, which, if met, means the plan will go into effect on Monday, March 28, 2022, the first day back from Spring Break:
- Community transmission of infectious disease
- Spread of infectious disease in our schools
- Operational impact of employee & student absenteeism
- Input from health care professionals
In addition to making masks optional, the approved updated Health & Safety Plan includes returning the District's visitor and volunteer protocols and school activities that were in place before the COVID-19 pandemic and implementing the District’s Illness Procedure guidelines. The illness guidelines detail when students should stay home based on certain symptoms, and explain when someone may return to school based on health care providers’ instructions.
Other mitigation measures in the plan include continuing to educate staff and students on hand washing and sanitation protocols, and monitoring and maintaining ventilation systems. After the plan goes into effect, the District will continue to monitor national and local guidance from public health professionals to assess if Boise Schools need to transition back to its pandemic plan.
District officials said implementing the plan at the beginning of the fourth quarter on March 28th allows the District to continue to monitor community transmission and make sure cases continue to decline.
Until the updated Health & Safety Plan is implemented, the Boise School District will continue to:
- Monitor local conditions
- Implement the District's current pandemic level mitigation measures, including universal masking
