So far the Genesee, Allegan, and Kalamazoo County Health Departments have issued mandates requiring masks in Kindergarten through 6th grade.
When it comes to mandating masks, the Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators said school districts and health departments need to act as partners in discussing and making decisions.
Tina Kerr, the executive director of MASA, said the pressure is unfairly being placed on school officials.
“And the superintendent's obviously are out in front, we really are advocating for these partnerships being strengthened, and that local health departments really do help support their local superintendents knowing that this is a very tenuous situation for them," she said.
Kerr said superintendents don't have the necessary guidance from health officials to make these kinds of decisions for their individual districts.
She says school officials shouldn’t have to bear the burden of monitoring COVID-19 cases in their communities to determine whether a universal mask mandate is needed.
“For our superintendents to be getting death threats. That's not what they went into this position for, they wanted to focus on teaching and learning. And now, what we seem the majority to be focusing on is math," she added.
In a press release Thursday, Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said she’s recommending all school districts in the county to follow the current guidance from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for the upcoming school year.
The guidance says school districts should mandate universal masking in their schools, encourage COVID-19 vaccinations for those who are eligible, and implement weekly testing when COVID-19 transmission is high.
The recommendation comes as the Lansing and East Lansing school districts implement universal masking for the coming school year.
