Masks Optional For Lower Moreland Students In 2021-22; May Change

LOWER MORELAND, PA — While some local school districts in Montgomery County are now moving toward a possible mask mandate for K-12 students due to the ever-changing landscape with the coronavirus pandemic, the Lower Moreland Township School District still has plans to make facemasks optional indoors, at least at this point in time.

The most recent version of the district’s health and safety plan still lists masks as optional for students while inside school buildings, although they will be required on school buses in compliance with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s order that they be worn while on public transportation.

Vaccination status doesn’t figure into the plan.

While there is currently no mask mandate, district officials still 'recommend' that students wear masks to help mitigate against the spread of COVID-19.

The Lower Moreland School Board is scheduled to vote on the district’s health and safety plan during its upcoming Aug. 17 meeting.

Cheryl Galdo, the director of human resources and public relations at Lower Moreland, told Patch that while the mask protocol is currently listed as optional at the district, that could change depending on what continues to become of the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen a surge of numbers as of late.

“If a health agency mandates that masks be worn in school, the district will comply with that mandate,” Galdo wrote to Patch.

Some area school districts, like Methacton and Norristown, have amended their health and safety plans to include mandatory mask wearing on the heels of a change in position by the Montgomery County Office of Public Health, which recently began recommending that all students regardless of vaccination status wear masks while inside school buildings as a mitigation strategy against COVID-19.

Galdo stressed that the current iteration of the health and safety plan may have adjustments made to it before it goes to the school board for a vote on Aug. 17, so parents should be aware that the current version of the plan may not be what ends up coming before school directors for final passage.

The current version of Lower Moreland's health and safety plan can be found here.