ALLENTOWN, Pa. - On Aug. 25, Gov. Tom Wolf wrote a letter requesting the state legislature return to Harrisburg to work on legislation that would require mask-wearing in K-12 schools and child care centers.
However, with no mask mandate in place yet, Lehigh Valley school districts have developed their own plans for students returning to in-person classes.
Despite their differences, some of the region’s rural, urban, and suburban districts are sharing a common approach to masking: doing away with the so-called “one-size-fits-all” policy.
Bethlehem Area, Easton Area, Northwestern Lehigh, and Saucon Valley school districts are among those that have opted for tiered plans to guide student mask-wearing.
District tier levels are based on established COVID-19 metrics. While the metrics vary from district to district, they often include county COVID-19 case counts, test percent positivity rates, evidence of community spread and vaccination rates.
Most districts include three-tier levels in their plans, with universal masking included in the highest tier.