By Yana Kunichoff | Arizona Republic
As alarm grew over the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant as Arizona schools opened for the fall, parent Daniel Quist was relieved when his district took up a mask mandate.
But that relief quickly faded when he learned that families would be able to opt out. The form on the website of Litchfield Elementary School District, where two of his children attend school, did not ask parents to state a reason for not participating, or list any medical need.
“It’s just not going to work,” said Quist, who has children in second and fifth grade. When he picks up his children from school, he said, only about half of their classmates are masked. “It’s absolutely worthless.”
Despite legislation passed by Arizona lawmakers that prohibits district-level decision-making on masks or vaccines, 14 school districts in metro Phoenix have implemented COVID-19 mask mandates since students began returning for in-person learning last month.
Many of those districts also have offered an opt-out clause that allows families and staff members to request masking accommodations. Those range from requiring doctor’s notes to the option to avoid masking for unstated reasons.
Some parents in those school districts worry an opt-out clause in some cases could just have the same effect as no mask mandate: allowing teachers or parents ideologically or otherwise opposed to masking to come to school, or have their children come to school, without a face covering.
On the list: These districts require masks, despite Arizona ban on mask mandates
As students returned to school buildings this fall, those age 12 and older are eligible to be vaccinated, but younger students are not.
Vaccine safety studies in children 5 to 11 are likely to be finished early this fall, Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have said, with trials for younger children probably not ready until the end of 2021 or early next year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended universal masking in K-12 schools this summer in response to the fast-spreading delta variant of the coronavirus but noted that exceptions could be made for people who cannot wear a mask because of a disability or for whom wearing a mask would impact their ability to perform their job.
Some districts offer details on opt-out requests
The Arizona Republic asked the 14 metro Phoenix districts for information on those formally opting out.
