School board will still encourage masks in class after Alberta lifts COVID-19 rule
Posted February 9, 2022 3:40 pm.
Last Updated February 9, 2022 8:40 pm.
The chairwoman of one of Alberta’s largest school boards says her email inbox is filling up with messages from parents concerned about the UCP government’s plan to lift a mask mandate in classrooms.
Trisha Estabrooks of Edmonton Public Schools says many parents are frustrated with the province’s decision to send kids to school Monday with the option to not wear a mask.
Premier Jason Kenney announced yesterday that mandatory mask rules will be cancelled for children under 12 in all settings and for all children in schools.
Education Minister Adriana LaGrange also issued a public letter informing school boards they don’t have the power to override the directive and order students to wear masks in school or on school buses.
Estabrooks says school boards don’t have the legal authority to bring in their own masking requirements because the health order that allowed them to do so has also been removed by the government.
But she says Edmonton Public Schools plans to tell families that masks are still encouraged.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2022.
