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School Board, ATA Respond to Alberta’s Mask, Online Learning Policy

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Edmonton’s two largest school boards say they welcome the “clarity” provided by the state’s new policy on masking and online learning in schools.

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Alberta’s United Conservative government on Thursday announced a regulatory change barring school officials from shifting to online-only classes, saying mask-wearing cannot be a condition of attending in-person learning.

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While mask mandates have not been enforced in schools since February, a recent King’s Court of Alberta ruling said the government “unjustifiably did” when it lifted COVID-19 mask requirements for schools last winter. At the time, Education Minister Adriana Lagrange, in a letter to school authorities, said she had no authority to require students to wear masks, but Justice Grant Dunlop said the minister’s words were not a rule. , prevent the board from taking action that concluded that they did not actually ban the school.

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As schools struggle with a spike in respiratory illness that has caused student absenteeism to skyrocket this month, school officials have sought answers on what indicators will prompt the resumption of public health measures and who should make the decisions. I got

The directors of both Edmonton Catholic Schools and Edmonton Public Schools said Friday that the state has given a clear answer on whether the boards have the authority to make health-related decisions.

Edmonton Public Schools President Trisha Estabrooks said, “Everyone in Alberta understands that making decisions that belong to health authorities is outside the jurisdiction of individual school boards and is within the jurisdiction of individual school boards. I think you understand that it shouldn’t be.

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Sandra Palazzo, president of the Edmonton Catholic School, agrees.

“We expect medical personnel to make these decisions,” she said.

LaGrange spokesperson Emily Peckham said on Friday that the government’s intention was to give guidance on measures that “could limit access to education.”

“Some school authorities have recently considered implementing home learning due to the high incidence of staff illness, and some interest groups have called on school authorities to enforce mask mandates,” she said. said.

“Given that there are currently no health orders supporting these decisions, we are ensuring a consistent approach statewide.”

Edmonton Catholic School Board Chair Sandra Palazzo in response to new state government regulations regarding the use of masking and online learning in schools in Edmonton, Friday, November 25, 2022. David Bloom/Postmedia
Edmonton Catholic School Board Chair Sandra Palazzo in response to new state government regulations regarding the use of masking and online learning in schools in Edmonton, Friday, November 25, 2022. David Bloom/Postmedia Photo by David Bloom /David Bloom/Postmedia

ATA highlights school staffing issues

In a statement Friday, Alberta Teachers Association President Jason Schilling acknowledged that the latest regulatory changes would give the school board more clarity, but added that the government’s solution was “impossible”.

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“Many schools across the state are struggling to maintain in-person classes in the face of widespread outbreaks of COVID-19, influenza and RSV, as teacher and student illnesses are rampant.” he said.

“When schools have no choice but to conduct online learning in response to severe staffing shortages and the limited availability of alternative teachers, they will simultaneously offer face-to-face instruction, as required by regulation. I don’t have enough ability to

Estabrooks also said staffing issues would not be resolved if face-to-face and online teachers had to be provided.

“Actually, it’s getting worse, so I predict it could be difficult,” she said. I have complete confidence in our Superintendent that we can.”

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After 16% of Edmonton Catholic school students and nearly 14% of public school students missed class due to illness in early November, sickness absenteeism has been low this week.

As of Thursday, the absentee rate in Edmonton Catholic Schools and Edmonton Public Schools was about 4%.

But Estabrooks said the Edmonton public is likely to consider how health officials monitor disease rates in schools and what thresholds may be considered with respect to future public health orders. He said he was still waiting for details.

“Statewide, there’s not a lot of transparency. In fact, there’s no transparency regarding the number of AHS-declared outbreaks in schools statewide,” Estabrooks said.

“We are still in this pandemic, still looking for some answers, some thresholds, more transparency.”

Neither AHS nor the health minister’s office responded to Postmedia’s request on Friday for the current number of schools under investigation of the outbreak beginning at the time school authorities reported sickness absence rates of over 10%.

masmith@postmedia.com

@mexsmith

ajunker@postmedia.com

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School Board, ATA Respond to Alberta’s Mask, Online Learning Policy

Source link School Board, ATA Respond to Alberta’s Mask, Online Learning Policy

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