Seven states across the U.S. banned mask mandates for students in schools, including Arkansas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, according to …
Seven states across the U.S. banned mask mandates for students in schools, including Arkansas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, according to local activity tracking platform Burbio. The bans came prior to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) new mask guidance, which “recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.” Several state leaders are standing firm on the bans as COVID-19 and its delta variant continue to pose very little risk to otherwise healthy children. Arkansas The Arkansas General Assembly passed a bill in April banning mask mandates across the state, including in schools. However, the Little Rock School Board passed a unanimous resolution Monday asking for support from the General Assembly to reverse course and allow mandates, according to KATV News. Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is currently “evaluating options for legislative changes to Act 1002 that will give our schools more local control on meeting the health needs of the students as we enter a new school year in the face of the delta variant,” according to 4029 TV. Arizona The state legislature of Arizona banned mask and vaccine mandates, as well as vaccine passports, via the passage of their annual budget on June 30, according to Tucson Local Media.
