No Alberta school or preschool class can require students to wear masks to attend school, says a new provincial government regulation.
The rules, which take effect today, also prevent almost all Alberta schools from switching grades 1 to 12 classes to an exclusively online format.
Kindergarten and preschool classes are excluded, and schools in sensitive settings such as hospitals may be exempt from the rules.
“Parents and students have told me time and time again that they want a normal school environment for their children,” Premier Danielle Smith said in a press release Thursday afternoon.
Smith’s statement said the new regulations “enhance educational choice” and require the education system to support that choice.
The statement says the government is concerned about the mental health implications of children missing face-to-face classes during the pandemic. He also says some kids struggled with online learning over the past three years, and an in-person option should help kids keep up with their academics.
The press release said schools and school boards were seeking clarity on what public health measures they might consider taking.
The change comes as hospitals and children’s schools are struggling with a surge of sick children and teenagers.
Doctors say pediatric emergency services across the country are overwhelmed with children presenting with respiratory and gastrointestinal infections.
Public health doctors have said the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19 are creating a triple whammy of health challenges for children.
If Alberta’s chief medical officer of health decides to require additional school public health measures to control disease outbreaks, those orders would take precedence over new school regulations.
Last February, the Alberta government lifted mask mandates in schools. The families of five immunocompromised children and the Alberta Federation of Labor challenged the government’s decision in court.
In October, a King’s Bench judge ruled that the government’s demand to end mask mandates was “unreasonable” because the decision was made by the cabinet and not the chief medical officer, who has this power under the Public Health Act.
The judge also found that Education Minister Adriana LaGrange had failed to take the necessary legal steps to prevent school mask mandates.
At the time, Smith said the government was looking into legal avenues to address it.
Smith campaigned for the leadership of the United Conservative Party on the promise that children would never have to wear masks to school again.
The new regulations apply to public, Catholic, francophone, private and charter schools.
More to come.