By Kailee Kroll, WV News
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — The West Virginia Board of Education and the West Virginia Department of Education on Wednesday released back-to-school guidance for the 2021-22 school year, with information outlining procedures and strategies for preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus and maintaining operation of schools without interruption.
This year, each county board of education will formulate its own policy on wearing masks in school, state Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch said during Gov. Jim Justice’s briefing Wednesday.
Burch noted that the requirement to wear masks in school last year was not the state board’s or the WVDE’s, but rather the result of an indoor mask mandate by the governor and the state Department of Health and Human Resources.
There are no plans for a statewide mask mandate for schools this year, he said.
“If there is any change to this, we will certainly work with the DHHR to implement that. But a statewide mandate is the decision of the DHHR if they find that there is a health need. We will be meeting with local superintendents to outline expectations in working with local health departments,” Burch said…
