A. In the event
that the Department requires face masks for students in school to prevent the
spread of an infectious disease, the Department shall set forth the rationale
for a masking requirement through a statement. This statement shall be made
publicly available on the Department's website.
B. Any decision regarding whether to
implement a face mask requirement for students will consider scientific
evidence as well as the feasibility of such a requirement. The factors
considered in this decision may include, but not be limited to:
1. The transmissibility and infectiousness of
the specific pathogen;
2.
Facilitators of the specific pathogen (including how it is spread);
3. Students' ages;
4. Infection control in school, which may
include, but not be limited to:
a. The ability
to separate students into smaller groups,
b. The availability of other prevention
options for similarly situated students (including vaccinations), and
c. The availability of treatment options for
similarly situated students;
5. The ability of students with disabilities,
as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act,
42 U.S.C. §§
12101
et seq., to comply
with the requirements;
6. The
effectiveness of any available prevention and treatment approaches;
7. Whether the effectiveness referenced in
§ 4.3(B)(6) of this Part varies among the different ages and age ranges
represented by school;
8. Whether
the prevention and treatment options are Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) or
FDA-approved;
9. Scientific
evidence of the effectiveness, disadvantages, and side effects of masks on the
pathogen (including an assessment of the availability and quality of such
evidence);
10. Input from various
stakeholders which may include, but are not limited to, the Rhode Island
Department of Education, the Office of the Governor, school districts,
students, and parents or guardians of students, as well as other expert groups
and institutions (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Infectious
Disease Epidemiology Advisory Committee);
11. The concentration and spread of the
disease among students;
12. The
immediate discomfort and long-term effects of the disease on students and
variations in the effects from those experienced by the general
population;
13. How masking could
form part of a comprehensive approach to addressing the disease in
students;
14. The concentration of
the disease in the general population (and any data that correlates
estimates/expectations of concentration among students and how that impacts the
general population concentration); and
15. The contribution of students to the
transmission of the disease to other vulnerable populations.
C. Scientific evidence will be
utilized in connection with evaluation of § 4.3(B) of this Part; provided,
however, that some evidence may be given more weight than other evidence, and
this balancing of evidence requires the exercise of judgment based on the facts
and circumstances that exist at any given time as well as the experience and
expertise of those engaged in the decision-making process. The Director shall
have the final decision within the Department regarding face masking for
students.
