KENTUCKY — The Kentucky Board of Education on Thursday approved requiring universal masking in public schools into 2022. Set to last 270 days, the regulation is independent of Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order requiring masks in all schools and child care facilities.
What You Need To Know
- The Kentucky Board of Education approved its own school masking policy on Thursday in an emergency session
- The final vote was 10-0
- KBE's regulation will last up to 270 days, or nine months, unless guidance from the CDC on masking in schools changes
- The board's ruling is separate from Gov. Andy Beshear's 30-day executive order on masks in schools and child care facilities
Board members convened for the unanimous 10-0 vote to approve the emergency regulation Thursday afternoon. The board said it will consider rescinding the mandate if the CDC or Kentucky Department for Public Health guidance on masking in schools changes.
The board was meeting following public outcry and backlash surrounding Gov. Beshear's executive order issued two days earlier. Pointing to rising cases among children, Beshear issued the order that is currently set to last 30 days.
KBE's regulation will last around nine months, with the end date falling around the first week of May.
Beshear's order now faces a legal challenge from Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who filed a response with the Kentucky Supreme Court Wednesday, questioning legality of his order and asking the Court to intervene in the matter.
“The governor does not have to choose between following the science and following the law,” Cameron said in a statement. “The two can and should work together.”
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