With DESE Finally
Introducing Needed Universal Mask Mandate for Schools, Danielle Allen Continues
to Press Mass Gov and DESE for Routine Process for Masking Advisories
“The Governor’s office and
DESE need to deliver effective coordination across the whole Commonwealth by
equipping our schools with the knowledge, tools, and resources necessary to
keep everyone safe”
Cambridge, MA -- With public schools across Massachusetts returning to school in a
week and DESE belatedly bowing to the realities of the Delta variant with a
universal mask mandate for schools, gubernatorial candidate Danielle Allen is
calling on Governor Charlie Baker and the Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education (DESE) to improve process around safety measures for
students, teachers, and school staff amid the continued COVID spikes by
instituting a routine process of advisories linked to triggers of safety protocols.
Danielle
Allen spearheaded a multi-disciplinary, cross-sector COVID response team that
led to the Biden-Harris Pandemic Testing Board, an interstate compact to build
out COVID testing resources, and Covid Collaborative guidance on infection prevention and
control in K-12 settings that has been disseminated nationally, including
through the US Dept of Education. She worked with the Cambridge Public School
District throughout the 2020-21 school year to achieve a successful return to
healthy and safe in-person teaching and learning.
Two
weeks ago, Allen called on Baker and DESE to develop and implement a system of
COVID alerts and advisories, similar to weather advisories, to communicate the
levels of risk operative in the state, our communities, and our schools as
those levels rise and fall over time, which would then trigger safety protocols
in schools. Allen also called on the Governor’s office to develop model
municipal ordinances and policies, linked to the alert system, to support
coherent consistent response across the Commonwealth. Those advisories would
trigger universal mask mandates and other measures like increased frequency of
testing.
Now,
Allen has released the following statement regarding the safety of our students
and school personnel this fall:
“As
our teachers and school staff continue to adapt their COVID response protocols
in the best interests of our students and school personnel, the Governor’s
office and DESE need to deliver effective coordination across the whole
Commonwealth by equipping our schools with the knowledge, tools, and resources
necessary to keep everyone safe,” said Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate
Danielle Allen.
In
addition to a mask mandate for everyone in school buildings, we continue to
need
- A routinized system of COVID
advisories, similar to weather advisories, as I proposed earlier in
August. These advisories would work to communicate the levels of risk
operative in the state; when a COVID warning is in effect (as should
currently be the case), school districts and other entities working with
vulnerable populations would be mandated to require universal indoor
masking and expected to implement other routine responses to the
advisories to protect health and safety for all in the school community.
We
also continue to need:
2.
An expansion of the vaccine mandate for state employees in
the executive branch to apply to public school personnel.
3.
A Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) survey of all
school buildings to assess ventilation, and further needs for upgrades.
4.
Ongoing free provision of pooled, screening testing for all
schools.
5.
Ongoing provision of contact tracing for all
schools.
6.
Technical assistance on developing ongoing infection prevention
and control, strengthening health teams in schools, and partnering with
community health centers.
With
so much of the world unvaccinated, COVID variants and new waves will be an
issue for the foreseeable future. With smart policy decisions and effective
communication, Massachusetts can achieve ongoing pandemic resilience and set a
leadership standard. Rather than force school districts, parents, educators,
and students to make time sensitive, high-pressure decisions from scratch every
few weeks, the Governor’s Office should proactively develop routine processes,
in consultation with regional and municipal partners, DESE, and DPH, to keep
students and school personnel safe, no matter where in the Commonwealth they go
to school or work.