COLUMBUS, Ohio — The common thing to see in schools these days are masks, a tool doctors have encouraged us to use this entire pandemic.
"It's about keeping our kids safe and healthy and that should be the only thing that we're concerned about at this point,” said Shani Bank. She’s a mother of a New Albany high schooler.
Schools across the state have adopted a masking mandate, and others haven’t. One is New Albany-Plain Local Schools.
10TV reached out to school leaders and they sent us an email that was sent to parents and staff. The email says masks are optional to both students and staff. Handwashing, sanitizing and social distancing are encouraged.
Pickerington Local Schools is also taking this approach. Masks are optional for grades K-12. The school said they are closely watching the spread of the omicron variant.
Bank wants there to be a mandate in her child’s school, especially after the state surpassed the single-day high for positive COVID cases as the omicron variant surges.
"I don't believe that this is the right time for this to be happening,” she said.
We learned that masking isn’t the only issue causing a classroom-sized debate in schools across the state.
Doug Palmer is the Senior Transportation Consultant at the Ohio School Board Association. He told 10TV schools across the state are dealing with bus shortages or remote learning because teachers are out sick.
In Reynoldsburg, preschool and high school students will participate in remote learning for the rest of the week, however the district says students grades K-8 can anticipate a normal return to classes.
“About half the schools in the state have actually extended their break or they've gone remote,” Palmer said. “They are really trying to get their feet underneath them and figure out where they're at.”
