Five Arizona school districts have joined the growing list of districts that are requiring students and staff to wear masks, even though a new state law bars such mandates.
Two districts in the Tucson area and three in metro Phoenix issued mask requirements after a Maricopa County judge ruled Monday that the state doesn’t take effect until Sept. 29. A teacher who filed a lawsuit challenging a mask mandate at a Phoenix district argued it took effect after lawmakers approved it in late June.
In all, at least 16 districts in Arizona require students and staff to wear masks while indoors amid fears over the delta variant.
The districts collectively account for 198,000 students and nearly 300 schools, most in Tucson and metro Phoenix.
On Tuesday, Gov. Doug Ducey announced a $163 million grant program to raise per pupil funding for schools that follow all state laws and remain open for in-person instruction.
“Parents are in the driver’s seat, and it’s their right to make decisions that best fit the needs of their children,” Ducey said in a statement. “Safety recommendations are welcomed and encouraged — mandates that place more stress on students and families aren’t.”
Meanwhile, a western Arizona school district is considering an unorthodox proposal to ban any discussion between staff and students about vaccines and masks. The Colorado River Union High School’s governing board is set to meet on the matter Tuesday night in Bullhead City. The measure would allow for disciplinary action to be taken against any district employee who speaks on “anything related to vaccine status or encouraging/discouraging vaccines or mask with students.”
District officials did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment. According to the district dashboard, there are currently 18 active COVID-19 cases across the district.
Arizona officials on Tuesday reported 2,661 COVID-19 cases and three deaths from the virus.
In all, authorities have reported more than 970,523 COVID-19 cases and 18,467 deaths from the virus since the pandemic began.
Fifty-four percent of the 7.1 million people living in Arizona have been vaccinated.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
