How Douglas County Schools Are Dealing With COVID Mask Order Reversal

The Douglas County School District is in a difficult position: It must now implement a policy that makes masking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 optional, even though it successfully sued to prevent that very thing from happening just weeks ago.

The letter to parents about this switcheroo, sent out on December 8, the day after the newly elected conservative majority on the Douglas County School Board dumped the old face-covering mandate, finds superintendent Corey Wise using tightrope language to explain the situation. “In alignment with the Board of Education’s resolution,” he writes, “DCSD will work to promote the appropriate balance between safety and an unconstrained learning environment.”

The current awkwardness has been two months in the making.

On October 8, the Douglas County Health Department, which was formed after county commissioners bailed from the Tri-County Health Department over COVID restrictions, approved an order allowing parents to opt out of school face-covering mandates for their kids. Two days later, the school district, which had been resisting pressure from the commissioners to ditch masking rules, made it clear that face coverings were still required at its institutions.

This point was reinforced by a subsequent lawsuit, and John L. Kane, a U.S. District Court judge for the District of Colorado, soon delivered a smackdown to the health department. After outlining the reams of evidence showing that mask usage helps to protect students and staffers from infection, Kane concluded that the “evidence demonstrates that Student Plaintiffs are at a significantly increased risk of severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19. It also establishes that quarantine requirements for exposed individuals and mask mandates that permit medically documented exemptions are prudent and necessary to prevent the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.”

As a result, Kane issued a temporary restraining order against the Douglas County Health Department that was later extended. The agency eventually caved, and on November 19, the suit was officially dropped. But by that time, a slate of anti-maskers had already been elected to the school board, guaranteeing a reversal that took place on December 7. The new optional approach went into effect immediately.

Those Douglas County parents who supported in-school masking will no doubt be watching closely to see if COVID-19 infections spike in the coming days – and spread at various district sites is already concerning, as shown by data shared on the DCSD COVID-19 tracker. Information accessed today shows double-digit cases at five high schools in recent days: ten at Chaparral High School from November 29 to December 6, fourteen at Douglas County High School from November 29 to December 3, fifteen at Highlands Ranch High School from November 29 to December 6, seventeen at Castle View High School from November 28 to December 7, and eighteen at ThunderRidge High School from November 29 to December 8.

Here’s the superintendent’s letter to parents:

December 8, 2021

Dear DCSD Families,

Last night during a special meeting, the DCSD Board of Education voted 4-3 to adopt a resolution addressing face coverings and other COVID mitigation requirements in our school district. The full resolution will be available to view on our website by the end of the day today.

As a result, effective immediately, DCSD’s mask requirement is no longer in effect. DCSD will honor personal and parent choice with regard to mask-wearing at school. There are, however, a couple of exceptions:

• Consistent with a federal public health order, students and staff are still required to wear face masks on school buses.
• As recognized in the Board of Education’s resolution and by the Douglas County Board of Health, masking may be required in individualized circumstances as an accommodation under the ADA, Section 504, or the IDEA. Students, staff, and volunteers should continue to bring masks to school in the event they may be needed. In the case that masks are needed in certain situations to protect an individual with an accommodation under the ADA, Section 504, or the IDEA, it will be done in a manner that impacts the fewest number of individuals as possible and will additionally respect students and staff who for medical reasons cannot tolerate a mask.

Families needing accommodations related to ADA, 504 or IDEA should work with their school principal on determining potential plans and next steps.

Additionally, DCSD will continue with its layered COVID mitigation protocols which include:

• Pursuant to CDC guidance, recommending (but not requiring) the wearing of facial coverings.
• Encouraging frequent hand washing and providing access to hand sanitation stations.
• Continuing with increased ventilation in buildings.
• Encouraging outdoor learning and activities where possible.
• Disinfecting frequently.
• Implementing physical distancing where possible.
• Providing families and staff with information about COVID vaccination and testing opportunities.
• Notifying families when their student may have been exposed to COVID so they may screen for symptoms and access COVID testing if desired.
• Notifying staff members when they may have been exposed to COVID so they may screen for symptoms and access COVID testing if desired.

It is critical to note that the protocols listed above will be most effective with the partnership of our families and staff. Please continue to do your part by keeping students home, and/or staying home yourself, when showing symptoms of illness. Please reference this symptom screening document for guidance on when it is safe to return to school after illness.

In alignment with the Board of Education’s resolution, DCSD will work to promote the appropriate balance between safety and an unconstrained learning environment.

DCSD will continue to monitor COVID data in our schools and community (see COVID tracker), and will consult with the Douglas County Board of Health, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and other agencies as appropriate as we continue to navigate the ongoing COVID pandemic.

Thank you for your partnership in this journey.

Corey Wise
Superintendent
Douglas County School District

Click to read the December 7 Douglas County School Board mask resolution.