Hamilton public school board changes original masking decision

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The “requirement” for staff and students to keep wearing masks past March 21 is now more akin to a recommendation. Photo credit: Pexels/Rodnae Productions

 

Hamilton-Wentworth Public School Board (HWDSB) trustees changed their original motion to require masks at public schools beyond the Monday, March 21 date set by the province at yet another special board meeting on Tuesday, March 15.

Trustees had previously voted on March 10 to keep the masking mandate for all staff and students in their schools until Friday, April 15, however, school boards do not have the authority to unilaterally create their own public health measures. At Tuesday’s meeting, trustees reversed the original motion requiring masks for staff and students by replacing it with a watered-down masking mandate that is more akin to a masking recommendation.

Come March 21, the first day of school after the March break, students and staff will still technically be “required” to wear a mask at Hamilton public schools, however, those who decide not to wear a mask will not be punished. Under the wording of the motion, it appears that anyone who declares themselves exempt from wearing a mask can simply not wear one because exemptions will not require documentation. It remains unclear if those exempting themselves from mask wearing will have to fill out a form or whether they can simply verbally declare an exemption if asked. It is also unclear as to what reason constitutes an acceptable exemption in the eyes of the board.

The length of the public school’s mask mandate has also changed. The previous motion extended the mandate until Friday, April 15. Now, it will be in place until Friday, April 1. After April 1 the board will still “strongly recommend” mask wearing.

It is believed that trustees reversed the March 10 motion due to legal advice received by the board informing them that their original decision would leave them susceptible to union challenges or human rights complaints. Their susceptibility comes from the fact that public health enforcement is under the authority of the Ministry of Education, local public health units, and the Ministry of Health, not local school boards.

It should also be noted though that even this new motion by school board trustees could be negated before the Monday, March 21 March break return. This possibility for negation is due to a line in the motion that reads that the board will accept that the mandate can be declared “out of order” if the Ministry of Education issues a specific written directive against it.

Two trustees, Ward 3 Trustee Maria Felix Miller and Ward 13 Trustee Paul Tut, voted against the new motion. They wanted to keep the original motion in place even though the legality of it was questionable.

On another note, the new motion could actually be strengthened if Hamilton Public Health decides to implement a Section 22 order requiring masks in all schools (public, private, and Catholic). A Section 22 order gives a health unit the power to invoke additional measures, such as masking, beyond what the province stipulates. The public board officially requested a Section 22 order from Public Health in order to give their mandate actual legitimacy, but so far the only response from the health unit has been that the request is “being reviewed.”

As it currently stands, Hamilton Catholic School Board (HWCDSB) will lift masking mandates on March 21 in line with the province and has called the move a “cause for hope.”

During the Tuesday, March 15 special public school board meeting, concerns were also raised about increased spread of the virus following potential staff/student travel over the March break. Federal travel regulations already require those returning from international travel to wear a mask for 14 days after their return, but does not require the same from those who have traveled domestically.

As it stands, pending any further changes to school masking mandates, masks for students and staff of the public school board will be “required” until Friday, April 1 unless a staff member or student declares themselves exempt, while masks for those in the Catholic board will not be required. Even still, the intricacies around viable exemptions and enforcement in the public board remain ambiguous.

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