Kentucky School Districts to Continue Mask Mandates Despite Legislative Action

The Kentucky General Assembly met in special session recently and last week voted to overturn Gov. Andy Beshear’s mask mandate in the Commonwealth’s schools. While that means there will be no statewide mask mandate for schools as of September 17th, the move did not prevent local school boards from adopting new mask mandates or enforcing existing mandates.

The Kentucky School Board Association (KSBA) notes that 56 of 171 school districts have indicated they will enforce local mandates once the state mandate expires.

NPR has more on the legislative action ending the statewide mask mandate in schools:

Kentucky lawmakers, many not wearing masks, voted Thursday to scrap a statewide mask mandate in public schools and shifted masking decisions to local school boards, acting in a special session as the state’s worst COVID-19 surge threatens to overwhelm hospitals.

The GOP-dominated legislature set education policies in response to disruptions caused by the virus, which has forced dozens of school districts to close classrooms. The masking provisions sparked emotional debate on the third and final day of the special session called by the Democratic governor to address the pandemic.