O’Fallon High School in Illinois shares mask policy for new school year

O’Fallon Township High School 203 students and staff who aren’t vaccinated should wear masks in school buildings this fall, but the district will not be asking for proof of vaccination, Superintendent Darcy Benway said in a letter to staff and families.

The school board will vote on a return to learn plan Aug. 5.

The district’s guidance closely mirrors the school reopening guidance published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and quickly adopted by the Illinois Department of Public Health on July 9.

Anyone ages 12 and older is eligible for the COVID vaccine. While many unit and elementary districts are contending with creating policies that include students who aren’t yet eligible for the vaccine, O’Fallon 203 is a high school district. Far more of its students are eligible for the vaccine at this time, if they choose to get it.

The latest CDC guidance still requires everyone, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks on public transportation, which includes school buses, as reflected in O’Fallon’s current guidance.

“School officials will continue to monitor COVID data and review guidance as it changes and evolves,” Benway wrote in the district’s announcement. “Should OTHS experience a COVID outbreak traced to our buildings, safety mitigations such as universal mask wearing may have to be reinstated. We need to be ready to shift into appropriate mitigation strategies based upon the status of the pandemic in our community.”

This story was updated on Tuesday, July 20 at 1 p.m. with information from the board of education’s agenda.

This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 4:10 PM.