TDSB to update masking policy Friday as school boards weigh options
Posted March 10, 2022 7:28 am.
Last Updated March 10, 2022 12:17 pm.
Parents in Ontario are still waiting to hear from school boards about their plans for masking in the classroom after March Break.
The province’s top doctor announced Wednesday that mask mandates for most indoor settings, including schools, will be lifted on March 21. Masks will become optional then and school boards could choose to keep their own mask policies beyond that date.
“We know that students, staff and families are eager to hear from the TDSB with regard to next steps,” said Toronto District School Board spokesperson Ryan Bird in a statement following the Ford government’s announcement.
The school board plans to update parents and students on its COVID-19 guidance on Friday. TDSB officials say they need some time to review the changes announced by the province, as well as specific guidance provided to boards from the Ministry of Education.
TDSB trustees will hold a special board meeting on Thursday night.
Related:
Major teachers unions are expressing concern that lifting mask mandates in schools so soon could lead to another disruption to in-person learning.
The president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) expressed concerns and said that the move is politically driven.
“In elementary classrooms right now, they continue to be overcrowded …and we’re working with a population of students where only 55 per cent of them have just one dose of the vaccine,” said Karen Brown.
“Masking right now provides an added layer of safety, let’s lift those layers gently.”
Brown says continuing masking requirements on public transit but not in classrooms “makes no sense.”
Children’s Health Coalition (CHC), an organization that offers support to children and families, expressed similar concerns and says it had hoped that Ontario’s masking mandate would have remained in place weeks after March break.
“We know that masking, daily screening, cohorting and distancing have been tough, but adherence to these measures has allowed schools to remain open,” the CHC said in a statement.
Premier Doug Ford insisted Wednesday the decision to move away from masks was left up to his chief medical officer, Dr. Kieran Moore, adding “there was no pressure on” him to make the move with an election upcoming in June.
“I want to ensure Ontarians that my decision making and recommendations to the government have not been affected by any understandings of the political system, they are based on evidence and science,” Moore said
Moore also announced Wednesday that pandemic measures — such as cohorting and on-site symptom screening — would end in schools.
Masking requirements will remain for public transit, long-term care, retirement homes and other health-care settings, congregate care settings, shelters, jails and homes for individuals with developmental disabilities. The province says mask rules will come to an end for all remaining settings on Apr. 27.
With files from Lucas Casaletto of CityNews
