Lower Moreland School District Recommends, But Doesn't Require, Masks

LOWER MORELAND, PA — Students attending the Lower Moreland School District will have the option over whether or not to mask up while in school, the decision coming out of a special school board meeting that took place Monday evening.

The decision came about during a tense, emergency school board meeting, that brought out many members of the community to address the highly contentious subject.

In the end, the school board voted 6-3 in favor of making masking strongly recommended instead of required.

Patch reported Monday that the district would hold a special meeting to address its health and safety plan.

School districts across Montgomery County have been revisiting the issue of face masks after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently placed Montgomery County back into the "high" community level for COVID-19 transmission.

Since then, some districts have returned to universal mandatory masking while others have kept masking optional.

Lower Moreland originally appeared as though it would go the route of mandatory masking, but a public outcry during Monday's meeting caused the school board to vote to make masking recommended instead of forced.

Some other districts have done an about-face after community outcry, including the Lower Merion School District, which after less than 24 hours made masking recommended as opposed to mandatory.

CBS 3 Philly also reported on Monday's Lower Moreland School Board meeting, and had footage of the gathering, during which parents both spoke for and against any mask mandate.