Mask Mandate Policy
MASK MANDATE POLICY
- Effective Monday, September 20, 2021, all students and staff will be required to wear facial coverings inside all school buildings, buses, and school vehicles when social distancing cannot occur.
- Students will be allowed to opt-out of the mask mandate for health, religious, or personal reasons, using a form available on our district website. Parents will need to return completed forms to their children’s school(s).
- Employees will have the same opt-out provisions and will return completed forms to their supervisors.
- The policy expires when one of the following occurs:
- A subsequent court ruling reinstates SB 658 in full.
- Leflore County color code drops below the moderate (color code orange) risk level on the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Covid-19 Alert System.
- The Panama Board of Education either amends or ends the policy.
- The district will supply masks at the schools, as we did last year.
- The district has plexi-glass dividers at every student’s desk. When a student sits down at their desk, he/she may then remove their mask.
The safety of our students and staff will continue to be our #1 priority.