Mask Mandate Effective Sept. 23

On Tuesday, Sept. 21, the Johnston Board of Education held a special board meeting to vote on the implementation of a PreK-12 mask mandate indoors, during instructional hours, for students, staff and visitors. The vote passed and masks will now be mandatory for students, staff and visitors during instructional hours at all schools, beginning Thursday, Sept. 23. This mandate will stay in place until the CDC identifies Polk County to be in the moderate community transmission level.  The special meeting can be reviewed on the Johnston Live Stream Network “On Demand” tab.

As a reminder, masks are also mandatory on all school buses unless there is an exemption in place.

Moving Forward and Classroom Practices

The mask mandate for grades PreK-12, adults in the building, and visitors, goes into effect on Thursday, Sept. 23. This includes 2- and 3-year-old preschool. However, KTC and any extracurricular activities happening before or after school are exempt from this mask mandate.  Should students come to school and decline/refuse to wear a mask, their parents will be contacted and they will need to comply or return home.

Mask Exemptions

The district does offer exemptions for the mask mandate. These exemptions are being reviewed by schools and the district office for validity as they come in. You can view the form here. For families filing religious exemptions, there is a 2-part process for approval. Once submitted, the signed/notarized exemption form will initiate a short, required questionnaire for the family to complete. The district will review these on a case-by-case basis. A district or school administrator will reach out to families if there are further questions or the form is not approved.