DETROIT (WWJ) -- The largest school district in Michigan will require all students and staff to wear masks indoors when class is back in session this fall.
The decision was made during a Detroit Public Schools Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night, instituting the requirement for the school year that begins on September 7.
Detroit Public Schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says there will also be social distancing requirements in school buildings.
“When we go from the classroom to the bathroom, we’ll distance by 3 feet. When we are in the cafeteria, we’ll distance by 3 feet. But there are points of interaction,” Vitti explained. “So let’s say groups of students are working together in a group, we’ll distance by 3 [feet] but they may interact, then that’s why the mask is important at this point.”
Still, not all were on board with the decision, which school officials say follows the latest CDC recommendations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
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School counselor Stacy Jackson said she was concerned about the mask policy after observing students’ behavior during summer school.
“What I noticed in the classroom is that students were not following the mask mandate,” Jackson said. “I had to repeatedly tell them to put on their mask. Finally, I started sending students to the office to give to administrators, only to have those students to return back minutes later and told not to do it again.”
“This is going to be a problem in the fall,” she added.
The Detroit Public Schools will also require staff to undergo weekly testing for COVID-19. Students will also be tested, but the testing won’t be mandatory and their parents will have to give consent.
The district also announced plans to open an independently-operated virtual school this fall for students whose parents prefer they continue learning online.
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