BOISE, Idaho — The Boise School District Board of Trustees voted to remove the mask mandate, effective immediately, during their meeting Monday, March 7.
Masks will now be encouraged for those who are not vaccinated, and optional for vaccinated individuals as of March 8, following the initial plan that was set for March 28.
"We've been doing this for a couple of years now, and things can shift on a dime," Beth Oppenheimer, one of the board trustees, said. "It's amazing to see how the cases have really come down. I do feel that we're at a safe place right now to be able to do this.
Trustees voiced concerns for students and their families that are at high risk or immunocompromised. Administration told the Trustees any student who wishes to move to online class has to wait until the next academic quarter starting on March 28.
In the meantime, students who do not feel safe attending in-person class will be accommodated with at-home options like how a student would learn while in quarantine according to administration.
"It's a difficult situation," Boise School District Spokesperson Dan Hollar said. "We understand people have different opinions and different perspectives. We want to respect those and continue to honor those. And make sure those who want to wear a mask feel comfortable doing so."
The meeting followed the determination made by the CDC to move Ada County Yellow -- or medium -- category on Thursday, March 3, regarding community spread of COVID-19. Counties in the yellow category do not need to require masks indoors According to the CDC.
In light of that CDC determination, the City of Boise also recently announced that it is removing mask requirements for city buildings and lifting physical distancing requirements and limits on crowd sizes at city-sponsored or city-approved events.
The Board made the decision based on the following criteria:
- Community transmission of infectious disease according to CDC is at a medium rate (yellow):
- 1174.04 cases per 100,000
- Hospital Admissions at 7.4 per 100,000
- Spread of infectious disease in our schools:
- January 17th - 23rd = 952 positive cases and 529 quarantines.
- February 7th - 13th = 147 positive cases and 62 quarantines.
- February 28th - March 4th = 13 positive cases and 0 quarantines.
- Operational impact of employee & student absenteeism:
- January - Overall fill rate of 61% / certified fill rate of 74%.
- February - Overall fill rate of 74% / certified fill rate of 84%.
- Input from health care professionals:
- Change in guidance from CDC as of 2/25/22
Boise schools are among the last in the region to require masks for staff and students, as the COVID-19 pandemic nears the two-year mark.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: