Forms and Information:
Please read all information below and if necessary, complete the above “Mask Exemption Forms”.
All students, educators, staff, and visitors will be required to wear face masks indoors for the start of the 2021-2022 school year as per Executive Order (EO) 251 announced by Governor Murphy which will mandate masking in the indoor premises of all public, private, and parochial preschool, elementary, and secondary school buildings, with limited exceptions. While masks will be broadly required in school buildings for the coming school year, exceptions will remain unchanged from the 2020-2021 school year, and include:
- When doing so would inhibit the individual’s health, such as when the individual is exposed to extreme heat indoors;
- When the individual has trouble breathing, is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance;
- When a student’s documented medical condition or disability, as reflected in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Educational Plan pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, precludes use of a face covering;
- When the individual is under two (2) years of age;
- When an individual is engaged in an activity that cannot be performed while wearing a mask, such as eating and drinking or playing an instrument that would be obstructed by the face covering;
- When the individual is engaged in high-intensity aerobic or anerobic activity;
- When a student is participating in high-intensity physical activities during a physical education class in a well-ventilated location and able to maintain a physical distance of six feet from all other individuals; or
- When wearing a face covering creates an unsafe condition in which to operate equipment or execute a task.
Medical Mask Exemption
- Parents and/or guardians seeking a medical exemption to the mask mandate imposed by Executive Order 251 must complete a District-provided exemption request form, provide written documentation from the student’s local health care provider indicating that a mask exemption is warranted, and sign a release of information that allows the District’s School Physician to consult with the student’s physician.
- Once a completed request form and release of information has been received, the appropriate District personnel shall forward the written documentation from the student’s local health care provider, parent-signed release of information form, and any additional appropriate information to the School Physician, who shall verify the need for a mask exemption.
- The School Physician may then contact the student’s physician to secure additional information concerning the student’s diagnosis or the need for exemption and shall either verify the need or shall provide reasons for denial to the Board. This process may be delayed if the student’s health care provider does not respond to a request for information from the District School Physician.
- No mask exemption will be granted until approval is received from the School Physician. The parents and/or guardians will be notified when approval is received.