Read about how these local districts are gearing up for next school year as COVID-19 cases decrease and vaccines become more available.
Frisco ISD
Frisco ISD to lift face mask requirement for schools starting June 1
Frisco ISD protocols for summer and fall classes will no longer require students and staff to wear face masks.
The news announced at the May 10 board of trustees meeting prompted cheers from dozens of attendees, several of whom spoke out at the meeting against the current mask requirement.
Daniel Stockton, the district’s executive director of government and legal affairs, reported that the new rules are based on the continued decline in positive COVID-19 case numbers. He said the availability of vaccinations has also played a role in the changing protocols.
Plano ISD
Plano ISD planning for full return to classrooms in 2021-22
Plano ISD expects to resume pre-COVID-19 activities this summer and fully return to the classroom in 2021-22.
In the first of several planned reports to the Plano school board, staff told trustees in a work session April 20 that their instructional plan for next year is being built around the idea that everybody is coming back. Chief Operating Officer Theresa Williams called it an “updated brick-and-mortar” plan with a possible virtual option.
The district also recently announced face masks will be optional at all district campuses, facilities and events in the fall.
Carroll ISD
Carroll ISD mask mandate to become optional starting summer 2021
The Carroll ISD board of trustees unanimously voted May 3 to make the wearing of masks optional starting June 1.
Following recommendations from the district’s COVID-19 task force, the board decided masks will no longer be mandatory for students and staff on campus as long as cases continue to trend downward.
“We are certainly moving towards the fall being normal,” Superintendent Lane Ledbetter told the hundreds of parents who attended the board meeting.
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD makes masks, close-contact quarantine optional starting June 1
Starting June 1, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD students will no longer be required to wear masks, and being quarantined due to close contact with a positive COVID-19 case will become optional.
“Our plan is to return to normal next August to start the 2021-2022 school year,” Superintendent Robin Ryan said. “Careful monitoring of our adjusted protocols this summer will provide us with the data to solidify those plans.”
Lewisville ISD
Lewisville ISD makes masks optional as of June 21
Masks will be optional at LISD schools for students and staff as of June 21, according to a May 10 email to parents.
“We certainly understand there continues to be a wide range of opinions on this topic, and masks will remain an option for all,” LISD Superintendent Kevin Rogers said in the email.
Rogers also said that, should COVID-19 numbers continue to improve, the school district intends to remove most Level Orange restrictions currently in place for the new school year.
McKinney ISD
McKinney ISD to resume learning in 2021-22 with all in-person classes and optional masks
McKinney ISD announced in a letter to parents May 10 that the district will not offer virtual instruction during the 2021-22 school year, and starting May 24 masks and face coverings will be optional throughout the district.
“I am encouraged by the reduction in COVID-19 cases in our community and our district, and we thank the MISD Health Services Department and the McKinney Fire Department for their tireless efforts to provide vaccinations to the McKinney community and to our staff,” Superintendent Rick McDaniel said in the letter.
Northwest ISD
Northwest ISD to relax mask, visitor policy starting June 7
Northwest ISD will no longer require masks on campuses starting at the beginning of summer school June 7, following recommendations from the district’s COVID-19 task force. Campuses will be open to visitors, and facilities will be available to rent after June 7 as well.
The NISD board of trustees voted to amend the district’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols May 10. The board previously voted April 12 to make masks optional during outdoor activities and to allow parent teacher association volunteers on campus during the school day.
“We wanted to wait a couple more weeks to see if that would cause any undue issues, and it has not,” Superintendent Ryder Warren said.
Kira Lovell, Sandra Sadek, Valerie Wigglesworth, Alex Copeland, Miranda Jaimes and Kristine Hughes contributed to this report.
