BA School Board Votes To Require Face Masks For Most Students

Broken Arrow Public Schools is planning to head back to school on August 19 for in-person classes. 

School leaders said they are requiring students in 3rd grade and up to wear masks, but they'll be given breaks during the day.

 Broken Arrow Public Schools said it sent out a survey to students, parents, and staff asking what they wanted the school year to look like and got back more than 9,000 responses.

School leaders said the majority of families want to head back to school. 

Summer Lambert has a 16-year-old son at Broken Arrow High School and said she’s excited that he will be reunited with his classmates this fall. 

“I think the most important thing is for these kids to have some good social interaction and some structure,” said Lambert.

Lambert went on to say “he’s already started football; they’re having a great time. It’s gonna be a great year.” 

The Broken Arrow School Board voted Wednesday to head back to school on August 19, as long none of zip codes with schools are designated with COVID-19 red zones by the state health department before August 10. 

They say because Broken Arrow’s District is in both Tulsa and Wagoner Counties, it’s difficult to get an accurate count. 

Broken Arrow Superintendent Janet Vinson said “we would rather base it on our local numbers because they’re numbers that affect our schools.”

They said if a student tests positive for COVID-19, they’ll do contact tracing to see who the student came into contact with and also shut down the classroom for a thorough cleaning. 

The district also said it'll offer a virtual program for students who don’t feel comfortable coming back to school, but they believe wearing masks will be enough to keep students safe.  

The district said nearly 1,800 students are enrolled in the virtual program so far.  

The deadline to enroll in online classes is August 5th. 

You can find the full plan, here.