Council Rock Makes Masks Optional For Rest Of School Year

NEWTOWN, PA — The Council Rock School Board voted to make masks optional for both students and staff for the remainder of the 2021 school year.

The measure passed in a 7-1 vote at the board's Thursday meeting. Board member Denise Brooks voted against it and board member Andy Block was absent.

The decision comes just one day after the Central Bucks School Board voted to make masks optional for students for the last week of the school year. At that meeting, Bucks County Public Health Director David Damsker told the board he did not feel a mask mandate was necessary in schools due to the low levels of COVID-19 transmission both in school and in the community.

In Bucks County, new COVID-19 infections are at their lowest level since last summer. The month of May ended with a seven-day average of 23 new cases being reported per day in Bucks County, the lowest level since August 28.

The board's decision goes against the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which both continue to recommend that unvaccinated children wear masks while in school.

While the state's mask mandate is in place until June 28, Council Rock Solicitor Robert Cox said the decision to make masks optional became lawful when Damsker made his public remarks at Central Bucks School Board meeting.

"The difference between this board's vote two weeks ago and the options this board has tonight is the result of that pronouncement from the Bucks County Department of Health," Cox said.

The last day of school for Council Rock students is Friday, June 11.

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