Wichita school board votes to drop mask mandate after debate over when it should end

Starting March 11, face masks will no longer be required in Wichita Public Schools, although they will still be “encouraged and welcomed.” The Wichita Board of Education voted 4-3 Tuesday to end a masking mandate that has been in place in Kansas’ largest school district since last August. A substitute motion supported by the board’s three most conservative members that would have immediately ended mandatory masking for students, staff and visitors failed 3-4. Face coverings will still be required on school buses, because of a 2021 federal order that they be worn on all forms of public transportation. And the motion that did pass includes a proviso for the board to reconsider and extend the mandate if COVID-19 spikes again in the district’s schools.
Source: Wichita Eagle