Schools

Masks Optional At Lawrence Public Schools After March 7

The district will stop sending letters to staff and parents about positive COVID cases. The numbers will be updated on the dashboard.

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — Lawrence Township Public Schools will make masks optional for students and staff after March 7, Superintendent Ross Kasun said.

New Jersey’s school mask mandate is set to expire on March 7.

“We recognize that our school community members will receive this message with mixed emotions. The decision to wear a mask or not wear a mask in school will be a personal and private matter,” Kasun said in a letter to the school community.

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“We will work diligently to ensure that no one is treated differently based on their decision to wear or not wear a mask in school. Because our classrooms will now have a combination of masked and unmasked students, we will not be able to enforce any parent request for mask monitoring.”

Although masks are optional, social distancing rules will continue until the end of the school year, Kasun said.

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“Hand-washing etiquette will continue to be expected. District sanitizing and disinfecting procedures will remain in place,” the Superintendent said.

The district said it will also stop sending out letters notifying staff and parents about positive COVID-19 cases, as of March 7. However, these numbers will be updated on the school’s COVID-19 dashboard.

“Ensuring the safety and health of our students, staff, and families and keeping our schools open is a priority. We need your help with those goals. Please keep your child(s) home if they are sick or have any COVID-19 symptoms,” Kasun told parents and guardians.

The district has also made a few changes to COVID-19 isolation policies.

Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 will be required to isolate for five days and can return on day six if they are symptom-free. They will however be required to wear a mask on days six to 10.

The parents and guardians of students who are close contacts of positive cases and staff members who are identified as close contacts of positive cases in school, vaccinated or unvaccinated, will be informed that they are close contacts and asked to closely monitor symptoms. They are however not mandated to quarantine.

Students and staff whose COVID-19 vaccine and booster status is not up to date and who are identified as close contacts of household members will be expected to quarantine for five days, the district said. They can return on day six only if symptom-free.

Students who need to isolate due to being positive for COVID-19 or because they are a close contact, can participate in classes virtually.

Meanwhile, the CDC announced that effective Feb. 25, masks will not be required on school buses and vans. Although wearing masks in buses is "strongly recommended", Kasun said it was not mandated.


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