Hempfield Area gearing up for new school year — without masks

Hempfield Area School District students will not be required to wear masks during the 2021-22 school year if board members approve a health and safety plan next month.

Plans will be submitted to the school board during the July 19 meeting before being sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, in a letter posted on the district’s website, said the education department is requiring health and safety plans before the start of the next school year.

Initial plans, which were discussed during a board meeting this week, state that parents can choose to have their children wear masks, but they will not be required by the district. That’s a change from the 2020-21 school year, when students and staff were required to wear masks while in school buildings.

“If parents want their children to wear a face mask to school in the coming year, we will support that with our teachers supporting that, but if a parent does not wish for their child to wear a face covering, we will not require that,” Wolicki said during Monday’s school board meeting.

Plans also will include a full reopening for daily in-person learning for all students, along with a full cyber option for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The decision to remove the hybrid option was announced early this month, when the district sent out an online enrollment form for the Hempfield Area Cyber Academy.

“For families who are not comfortable with being in-person every day, knowing that we will not be able to support the 6 feet of social distancing since we would not be using overflow rooms … the option would be there for families who would like to have a cyber option,” Wolicki said.

In addition, proper hand-washing will be reinforced and schools will be cleaned on a daily basis. District leaders are completing a ventilation assessment in all schools as part of a feasibility study. If improvements are needed, federal covid-19 relief funds can be used to cover the costs, Wolicki said.

She noted the administration will use guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement “mitigation practices to the greatest extent practicable.”

Input on the plans can be submitted through a link on the district’s website, hasdpa.net.

The plans will be posted on the site following the board’s July voting meeting.