PROVO, Utah – Some Utah school districts have taken the issue of whether students should have to wear masks and put it in parents’ hands.
Within the last week, three districts — Kane County, San Juan and Iron County — and one Orem charter school have stopped requiring doctor’s notes for students seeking a mask exemption in their schools.
Instead, parents need only sign a form vouching that their children suffer from a medical condition that inhibits their ability to wear a mask. Supporters in the Davis, Weber and Alpine districts, among others, have called for the same approach, at rallies and in letters and calls to administrators.
Groups who pushed for the changes, such as Utah Parents United, celebrated them as a return of agency to parents and students.
Those who oppose loosening school mask restrictions, however, say districts are dividing classrooms and communities and putting children, teachers and their loved ones at risk. And, by doing so with less than two months of classes left, they may be extending the need for kids to wear masks into next school year.
