![]() ![]() Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, would have modified the bill to allow districts 20 remote learning days per school rather than for the entire district. Later in the day, the House repeatedly refused to suspend the rules in order to hear floor amendments. Seven amendments filed in the Senate were ruled out of order since they were technically attached to the original bill and not a tweaked substitute of the measure. Some Republicans also took issue with the mask portion of SB 1 - but because it did not stop districts from implementing their own mandates.īackground: Here are the bills being considered during Kentucky's special sessionĪround two-thirds of Kentucky school districts planned on making masks optional prior to state mask mandates from KBE and Beshear, according to a tally by WFPL.Īt least nine school districts, including Kentucky's two largest, said they intended to continue requiring masks after SB 1 arrived on Beshear's desk.Īlthough lawmakers hinted at possible points of consensus, neither chamber allowed floor amendments to change the bill. "May history judge us as harshly as we deserve to be judged," Minter said before voting against the measure. Patti Minter, D-Bowling Green, reminded lawmakers that they were elected to protect Kentuckians. Crafting the legislation, Wise said, is "like Goldilocks and the Three Bears."ĭemocrats, along with many educators, feared ending the mask requirement issued by the Kentucky Board of Education and allowing school boards to set mask policies will ultimately harm kids. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, said on the Senate floor Thursday. ![]() Despite large vote margins in both chambers, Democrats and some Republicans argued the bill does not go far enough. SB 1 initially passed by a 28-8 margin in the Senate and a 70-25 margin in the House. Search the data: How many COVID-19 cases and quarantines are in your JCPS school? "We will be working with Kentucky's school districts as they continue to try to keep students in school safely and do our best to manage the consequences of the decisions made by our legislature in this special session," Glass said. The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends universal masking inside schools.Įducation Commissioner Jason Glass quickly criticized the bill after the House's vote, saying it doesn't offer districts enough flexibility and "politically minded efforts" to end the mask mandate will hamper COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends anyone inside a K-12 school wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. ![]() "There’s also the question of how many people at this point would be foolish enough - because that’s what it would be - would put that many kids in danger by not requiring masking in schools," he continued. "Now, thankfully, I think most superintendents know that now, even the ones who didn’t think it was true in the beginning," Beshear said during a press conference prior to the veto. Related: Kentucky Senate advances bill that would ban future statewide mask mandates Republican leadership argued that since the bill was not an appropriations bill, Beshear was not allowed to veto sections of it. Democrats disagreed and said line-item vetoes were allowed.īeshear recommended - and for a few weeks, required - that school districts require masks as kids return to class amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.Įarlier on Thursday, Beshear reiterated that "universal masking is absolutely necessary in schools." Lawmakers also overrode Beshear's line-item vetoes of Senate Bill 2, which would prohibit future statewide mask mandates.īeshear only objected to portions of SB 1 that would end mask requirements for public schools and child care facilities. In a flurry of late-night activity, Beshear signed Senate Bill 3, which allocated $69.2 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds, and Senate Bill 5, which provided $410 million for an economic development project. Lessen rules to get retired and substitute teachers into classrooms.Allow districts to add time to the school day to make up missed days.Continue a limit of 10 nontraditional instruction days for each district.Give districts 20 days of "remote learning" to close individual schools or classes. ![]() School districts will have five business days to determine their mask policy before the statewide requirement officially ends. Andy Beshear late Thursday night.īeshear vetoed portions of Senate Bill 1 shortly before 11 p.m., hours after lawmakers passed the measure. He was almost immediately overridden by the Senate on a 22-6 vote and by the House on a 69-24 vote. Kentucky's school mask mandate is null and void after lawmakers quickly overrode a veto from Gov. View Gallery: Kentucky's 2021 Special Session Day 1 ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |