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Health and Safety Protocols:
Masking
As per Governor Murphy's Executive Order 251, all students, staff, and visitors are required to wear masks at all times while inside school buildings and school buses. Below are responses to the most frequently asked questions regarding masking requirements.
When and where are masks required to be worn?
Masks are required to be worn at all times inside school buildings and school buses.
Who is required to wear masks?
All individuals, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, are required to wear masks.
Do masks need to be worn outside?
No. Executive Order 251 only requires masks to be worn indoors. While the CDC recommends masks be worn by unvaccinated individuals in crowded outdoor settings, it is not a requirement to do so for the Paramus Public Schools. Of course, individuals who would prefer to wear masks outdoors should be permitted to do so.
What types of masks must be worn?
Cloth masks that are tightly woven, such as cotton or cotton blends, breathable, and in two or three fabric layers.
What if an individual is not wearing an acceptable mask (e.g., mesh face covering, neck gaiter, mask with exhalation valve or vent, etc.)?
The individual will immediately be supplied with an approved mask.
Are students and staff allowed to remove their masks if they are feeling overheated?
As per Governor Murphy's Executive Order 253, extreme heat-based exemptions to mask wearing may only be granted with proper documentation from a medical professional.
What if the air conditioning is not functioning properly in a classroom?
If possible, the class will be moved to an alternate location. If it is not possible to move the class to an alternate location and an individual is feeling overheated and there is a concern for the individual's physical health, then the individual should be sent to the nurse's office for a health evaluation, if necessary. If a health evaluation is not necessary, then the individual should be allowed to take a mask break in a separate location outside the classroom until the individual's body temperature is properly regulated.
What is the process for requesting a medical exemption to masking?
Contact the school nurse, who can provide detailed information regarding the type of medical documentation required and the steps to take within the process. Until the exemption is granted, the individual must continue to wear a mask.
Are masks required to be worn during physical education?
When students are outdoors, they are not required to wear masks, regardless of level of activity.
When students are indoors, Executive Order 251 only permits them to remove their masks if they are "engaged in high-intensity aerobic or anaerobic activity" or when they are "participating in high-intensity physical activities during a physical education class in a well-ventilated location and able to maintain a physical distance of six feet from all other individuals."
To ensure a streamlined approach, the physical education teachers have identified which activities contained within the curriculum require a high level of physical intensity.
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