Police have been called in to keep the peace at Eagle County Schools in Colorado on Monday, after a mask mandate was issued for schools in the area
Eagle County Schools in Colorado requires masks for all students, staff members, and visitors in buildings with pre-K through 8th-grade students beginning Monday, according to the school district’s website. Eagle County is about 100 miles west of Denver.
Law enforcement will be keeping the peace on the first day of school, hoping to ease tensions, after district leaders heard from both sides on the mask issue, according to Fox News. Some in the community consider the wearing of maskes to be a personal liberty issue, while others view mask-wearing as a necessary public health measure.
The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) will provide deputies at all schools in the Eagle County school district to "keep the peace," the sheriff's office said.
A spokeswoman for ECSO said that additional deputies will be at all schools in the district, with a focus on middle and elementary schools. ECSO already has resource officers at two of its high schools, she said.
The ECSO spokeswoman said they have not heard about any threats of violence, but there has been talk on both sides of the mask issue of a possible walkout or protest, reported Denver affiliate Fox31.
In an Aug. 9, post on the school district’s Facebook page, the district announced that masks would not be required, citing "high vaccination rates and minimal spread among youth."
But on Friday, Aug. 13, the district updated its policy to require masks for students, staff members, and visitors, the district said in a Facebook post.
Deputies plan to be outside of schools to help students get off buses and cross crosswalks safely as they get to school, the spokeswoman said.
"Our goal is the same as yours, getting our children back to school safely," Amber Barrett, a spokesperson for the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, wrote in a news release, reported the Denver7 News. "Law Enforcement is requesting that persons who are wishing to express their opinions not interfere or interrupt the freedom of movement and the functions of schools."
ECSO plans to issue reminders or warnings that people are allowed to be there but not to disrupt school, she said.
Colorado’s health department recommends school districts implement mask requirements, particularly in high-risk environments where vaccination rates are low and transmission is high. The updated guidance went into effect Aug. 1, reported Fox31.
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