COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mask mandates are now optional for preschools and child care centers, but the Ohio Department of Education on Thursday said that providers in Ohio are “strongly encouraged” to ensure that unvaccinated children wear masks.


What You Need To Know

  • The state is asking providers to enforce masking because young children are ineligible for vaccination

  • Officials said preschools and child care centers will continue to report cases in accordance with pre-pandemic rules

  • The department issued new guidance after most of Ohio's COVID-19 health orders ended Wednesday

The state provided guidance to child care centers and preschools after Ohio ended most of its COVID-19 health orders Wednesday.

“While masks are no longer required, beginning June 2, 2021, it is strongly encouraged that providers adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, which states that unvaccinated populations should still mask and socially distance,” the guidance states.

The new guidance applies to preschools for children aged 0-5 licensed by the state, including those operated by public and charter schools, as well as educational service centers and boards of developmental disabilities.

It also applies to child care programs for children aged 5-14 operated by the same list of providers, as they are also licensed by the department.

child care
Masks are strongly recommended for child care centers in Ohio because children under 12 are ineligible for vaccination. (AP Photo, Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

Most students in child care programs are ineligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. That will still be the case when the 2021-22 school year begins in the fall.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will not be authorized for children 2-11 until at least September, according to officials.

Because young children are not vaccinated, the state is telling preschools and child care programs to “remain vigilant in their efforts to slow the spread of the virus."

The department’s guidance said programs should continue to follow CDC guidelines for COVID-19 symptom assessment, quarantine and isolation.

In conjunction with the end of health orders in Ohio, a health rule for COVID-19 mitigation in preschools and another for school age child care programs were withdrawn, the Department of Education said Thursday. The rules mandated that providers report any COVID-19 cases to the state.

Despite the change, the state said providers are still required to report COVID-19 cases because a pre-pandemic rule requires programs to report serious incidents.

“Positive COVID-19 cases for an employee or child are considered a serious incident and must continue to be reported,” the department said, adding that providers should also report all cases to local health officials.