Kendra Macdow: Latest News

PHILADELPHIA - Several parents of Philadelphia school children argued spoke out against the district's mask guidance for the upcoming school year during a public meeting. The School District recently announced that students returning to the classroom this fall will be required to mask for the first 10 days of the school year. After the 10-day period designed to limit a potential COVID outbreak in schools, masks will become optional for students unless certain criteria calls for the mandate to be reimposed. Masks could return during the school year if community spread is high, a classroom experiences an outbreak, or upon returning from an extended break. RELATED COVERAGEStudents and staff in the pre-k head start program are required to wear masks all year long. The district hosted a public meeting on Thursday afternoon and heard from several parents who were not happy with the updated guidance. "This is an equity issued," Rahul Ganesan argued. "It really, really deeply reflects upon that, why are our kids in the district being treated differently than almost 99% of kids in the entire country?"School officials consulted with several medical experts when devising the new guidance, including Medical Officer Dr.