Kansas City, MO – As the first day of school neared this month, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners issued a mask order for all children in K-6 schools to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and the Delta variant. Children under 12 are not currently eligible for the vaccines.
There's a caveat in the order, exempting people engaged with religious services, ceremonies or activities. And that would exempt the 16 parochial Catholic elementary schools in the county, according to the schools' governing body.
“My expectations of (school) principals are that we are going to follow public health orders. Number 1," said Dr. Vince Cascone, superintendent for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. In total, there are 42 schools throughout the organization's region in eastern Kansas.
Cascone says first and foremost, he recommends that school leaders follow local health orders. In a letter dated August 13, Cascone spelled out how their religious organization is exempt from following a mask rule. He followed with, "in deference to the common good and with due respect to our faculty, staff and students ... pastors and principals should require masks in their respective schools."
While he recommends wearing masks for the benefits to public health, he issued no blanket requirement, and is allowing for exemption letters from a medical doctor, mental health professional, or a parent.
For some in the parochial school district, allowing parents to provide an exemption for their child to not wear a mask is a misstep. However, parents can’t make up their own reasons for mask exemptions, according to the health department.
“It’s not just for any reason," says Charlie Hunt, deputy director of the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment. "There are very specific reasons that are listed in the order, so whatever process that the schools are setting up, it still needs to be consistent with the requirements of the order.”
Cascone says the JOCO health order requires documentation for exemptions, but doesn't specify a required origin of that document. "It’s important that we partner with parents, and that means, when parents have those concerns, we are certainly going to listen," he said.