WAUKESHA — The School District of Waukesha's Board of Education voted in favor of no longer having face masks mandatory on all school district property, effective immediately.
The proposal passed 5-4 during a meeting Wednesday night. Masks are now optional inside all school district buildings and on school district property.
This comes a week after the same board decided to no longer require students or staff to quarantineif they were determined to have had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, presumed positive for COVID-19, or awaiting test results.
During the Wednesday meeting, the school board also passed proposals to turn bubblers back on; allow field trips; remove any attendance limits at school events; and remove all recess restrictions involving mitigation.
In March, Waukesha County decided to not issue a local mask order after the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the statewide mandate.
Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow argued then that residents should be able to make "informed choices to protect themselves."
Farrow cited high vaccination rates, low hospitalizations and rapidly dropping cases of coronavirus as evidence that Waukesha County is heading in the right direction, regardless of a requirement for residents to wear masks in public, indoor places.