Schools
Students At North Penn School District Are Urged To Wear Masks, But Not Required To Do So
The North Penn School District is strongly recommending face masks in school buildings, but it stopped short of a return to mandatory masks.
LANSDALE, PA — Students attending the North Penn School District are urged to wear face coverings since COVID-19 numbers have been rising in the region, but school officials stopped short of ordering a return to mandatory masking.
The district announced this week that while Montgomery County is now in the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention's "high" community level for coronavirus transmission, it will not force students and staff to mask up while inside school buildings and when on district transportation.
"Please note that while health officials are urging that masks be worn indoors, they are not required," the district posted in a community correspondence. "Per these guidelines and the NPSD Health and Safety Plan, masks are not required in our schools but they will continue to be recommended."
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Federal health officials have not reclassified Montgomery County as "high" for COVID-19 transmission, even though the suburban county had up until recently still be in the "low" and "medium" categories.
School districts across the county had been convening emergency meetings and issuing statements in the past number of days regarding planned revisions to their health and safety plans, with some districts bringing back mandatory universal masking while others have shied away from forced masking and instead have merely recommended that face coverings be worn.
Find out what's happening in Montgomeryville-Lansdalefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
North Penn stated that it chose to go the latter route.
"The public is encouraged to wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently," the district stated in its message. "Wearing a well-fitted mask along with vaccination, self-testing, and physical distancing, helps protect you and others by reducing the chance of spreading COVID-19."
The North Penn School District is one of the largest in the region, with 13 elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school.
It serves public school students from the North Penn and Lansdale regions.
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