Coronavirus in rural America (Part CXLVII): A report from close to home on the rural-urban divide over school mask mandates

I've been following for weeks the debates across the nation on mask mandates--in particular, the states seeking to ban mask mandates.  The aim of these laws is to remove local control--that is, to prevent local school boards, for example, from requiring students, faculty and staff to wear masks.  These bans on mask mandates, passed by state legislatures or implemented by executive order of the governors in places like Texas, Arkansas, and Florida, have been challenged in the courts on various bases.  

Some of those legal challenges have succeeded.  In Arkansas, a Pulaski County (Little Rock) judge struck the ban on mask mandates, Act 1002, on the basis of equal protection--specifically that it wasn't proper for private schools to be permitted to have mask mandates while public schools could not.  

One interesting argument in that case implicated the rural-urban divide, specifically with respect to hospitals.  You see, Act 1002 banning mask mandates had made an exception for state hospitals, but not for county hospitals.  The latter tended to be rural, thus setting up a double standard for urban vs. rural.  Here's what the plaintiffs' brief, submitted by attorney Tom Mars, argued in that regard: 

Remarkably, the failure to exempt all detention facilities isn’t the only irrational exemption in Act 1002. When exempting “state-controlled health care facilities” from the ban on face mask mandates, the drafters of Act 1002 apparently forgot to consider that Arkansas has many “county controlled hospitals,” predominantly in rural parts of Arkansas. There’s no exemption in Act 1002 that even arguably includes county-controlled hospitals. There should have been, however. By arbitrarily creating two classes of government hospitals, the General Assembly has denied equal protection of the laws to a population that is already underserved, many without access to internet service, and already challenged by the distance they must travel to receive adequate medical care. There is no question that Act 1002 makes it illegal for any county-controlled hospitals to require patients, visitors, or the medical staff to wear face masks. This is yet another reason why Act 1002 lacks any conceivable rational basis, as required by the Arkansas Constitution.

The only case I know that struck a law as unconstitutional because of a double standard across the rural-urban axis is a 1999 decision out of Arizona that said the state could not impose different gun regulations in rural parts of the state than in urban parts.  I wrote about that case here, and a recent blog post by my student also mentioned it. In any event, this argument about rural hospitals and a lack of rational basis to differentiate between them and state hospitals didn't loom large in the Pulaski County judge's decision.  

Since that Pulaski County decision, most of the larger school districts in Arkansas have instituted mask mandates.  Not a huge surprise.  A few rural-ish districts like Elkins, an exurb of Fayetteville (the second largest city in the state and home to the University of Arkansas), have decided on other solutions.  Elkins' solution is a "separate but equal one":  it'll put masked students on one side of the classroom and unmasked students on the other.  

I learn about these decisions from my Twitter feed, as I'm not otherwise plugged in to what small schools in Arkansas are doing.  Plus, small schools don't attract as much attention as urban ones in the state media.  Therefore, I mostly don't know what rural school districts in Arkansas are doing.  I did, however, recently learn what a few small districts are doing from reading the Newton County Times, a weekly paper from my home county.  It has just reported what the Jasper School District is doing, and the story is basically one of inaction.  

First, let me note that the August 18, 2021 issue of the newspaper featured on the front page two photos of faculty and staff training for the Jasper district, taken before the students were back.  Among the dozens of folks pictured, only one (on the far right of the photo, about to enter the crowded room) was wearing a mask.  And the folks were also not socially distanced from one another.  In fact, one photo showed close interactions among staff playing rock, paper, scissors as an ice breaker activity.  Another photo showed staff clustered around tables.  It reminded me of photos I included in this blog post last year, when school staff were distributing bagged lunches and compiling homework packets to go home to students; no one was wearing a mask in any of those mid-2020 photos either.    

Two stories in that August 18 issue of the Newton County Times explained that Jasper School District (which includes Kingston in Madison County and Oark in Johnson County), along with another in the county, the Ozark Mountain School District (OMSD) that includes Western Grove, will not be requiring masks, pursuant to the April, 2021 state law banning mask mandates.  That's the law that has since been struck as unconstitutional, giving districts latitude to impose mask mandates should they choose.  If anything were to change, the stories reported, it will be because school boards decided to disrupt that status quo from the spring.  Thus I've been waiting for the school boards to meet and take up the issue.    

Regarding the Ozark Mountain School District, that August 18 edition of the newspaper reported this on the district's safety protocols, including contact tracing: 

OMSD will not mandate the wearing of masks. Students and staff who wish to wear masks may do so. 

School buses will be sanitized after each trip. Seating charts will be made and adhered to in order to ensure contact tracing abilities.

Now, the digital version of the August 25, 2021 issue of the newspaper explains that the Jasper School District board met and decided to keep masks optional.  Here's the story: 

Students and teachers with the Jasper School District don't have to wear a mask at school, unless they want to. That was the policy when classes ended last spring and it continues unchanged as classes began on Tuesday, Aug. 17. Also left in place is 10 days of paid leave for employees who must be quarantined or isolate due to COVID-19.

These were questions left dangling after the school district's Ready for Learning Committee met last week to review and approve this year's Ready to Learn Plan during the on-going coronavirus pandemic. They were left for the Jasper School District Board of Education when it met Monday night. Aug. 16.

Superintendent Dr. Candra Brasel ... said education officials recommend schools that do implement a mask mandate have legal consultation to keep it on the right side of the law.

It's interesting that no mention is made of any medical consultation, which would also seem appropriate.  Then there are quotes from a few of the school board members. 

Board member Skip Emmett said masks are important, but the community won't support it. "People have to make choices," he said.

Board member Quentin Rylee said he is against masks especially for children. He said children are more likely to get sick wearing a mask that they put on after dropping it on the ground.

I went to school with Quentin Rylee, and I'm rendered nearly speechless by his ignorant statement.  The story continues with a nod toward medical advice: 

The CDC advises unvaccinated children between the ages of 2 and 12 should wear a mask in public spaces and around people they don’t live with.

The board also decided to leave the COVID Emergency Leave Policy alone because federal funds continue to pay for those days of leave. The leave may be taken by a staff member due to testing positive for the virus, experiencing COVID-19 symptoms; or is a probable close contact, or close contact; needs to care for a dependent who is subject to a quarantine or isolation order and the employee's job duties are not able to be performed remotely.

Brian Cossey, director of federal programs and district operations continues to be the district's COVID-19 point of contact officer responsible for keeping track of the virus in the district. He said proper documentation will continue to have to be provided to take the leave as well as returning to school afterward. This protects the school district and assures that the system isn't being abused.

Vaccines are now widely available for persons over 12 years of age. Vaccinated people don't have to quarantine, he said.

I wrote here a few weeks ago about the lack of convenience in getting the vaccine in Newton County--including the fact that the local vaccine clinic in Jasper was set for the Friday before school started--hardly enough time to get both doses and have the two-week period for maximum efficacy kick in.  Newton County is one of the poorest counties in the state, and a columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette recently wrote about the urgency of reaching these populations with convenient vaccination opportunities.  Hasn't happened in Newton County. 

The Newton County Times story about the school board meeting continues: 

The board voted to approve the Ready for Learning Plan. Besides continuing with optional masking and COVID leave, the plan calls for social distancing at least 3 feet, continuing the protocols for hand washing and respiratory etiquette and, maintaining healthy facilities.School buses will continue to be disinfected. Drivers and aides will be encouraged to wear a face covering while students are on the bus when social distancing is not feasible. Students will be encouraged to wear face coverings on the bus when social distancing is not feasible.

This attention to disinfecting surfaces (also seen with respect to OMSD, as noted above) continues to be interesting--and misplaced in light of the science about COVID-19.  This is not a virus spread on surfaces; it is spread through airborne transmission, yet the theatrics of wiping down surfaces continues--not only on buses in rural Arkansas, but also in many places I frequent in urban California.  

The Newton County Times story continues with these details of other safety precautions: 

The school district's federally funded remote feeding program will continue. Cafeteria rules include no sharing tables. Bottled water will be made available for students as needed. The school staff will be responsible for self-screening before arriving at school. Thermometers will be provided for anyone within to screen at school. Visitors will be screened upon entering the buildings.

Brasel said funding has been released to school districts earmarked to make up for expenditures related to COVID-19. The money has been released in three rounds. Jasper School District received over $300,000 in the first round and $1.3 million in the second round. It will receive about $3 million in a third round (designated as ARP ESSER), 20% of which (about $650,000) is to be used to address learning loss of students. The money will mostly be used to hire additional personnel and curriculum. The board approved the ARP ESSER budget Monday.

I hope the newspaper will eventually report more details on expenditures related to personnel and curriculum--expenditures directly related to learning loss from the pandemic.  

The school district is buying four air conditioned school buses with these funds. They were ordered Monday night at a cost of just over $100,000 each. Two will be assigned to the Jasper campus and one each to Oark and Kingston.

Not saying the school buses aren't needed, but the expenditure does not seem to relate to COVID-19.  Indeed, to the extent that air conditioned buses mean students are less likely to open the school bus windows, that's a net loss on the ventilation needed to decrease the likelihood of virus transmission. 

That earlier story, from the August 18 issue of the paper, ended with this paragraph, which contradicts part of the August 25, 2021 story.  After stating, "the [federal] money will mostly be used to hire additional personnel and curriculum," it continues:  

The school district plans to use these funds to buy four air conditioned school buses, new heating, air conditioning and ventilation equipment for all three campuses and for renovations. The money primarily is to be used to continue to purchase cleaning supplies, personal protection equipment and more water bottle filling stations as the pandemic continues. These funds sunset in 2024.

I'm not sure why they'd be buying personal protection equipment--masks--since no one is wearing them.  The ventilation equipment seems like a great idea, but how quickly can they get it purchased and installed since the need for it, in relation to COVID, is immediate.  As for "cleaning supplies," again this seems odd given cleaning surfaces is effective at stopping the spread of the virus.   

Meanwhile, I get daily updates from the New York Times on vaccination rates in various places of interest to me.  One of those places is Newton County.  In the past month, the vaccination rate has gone from 23% to 25%, as documented by these periodic screenshots.  Not nearly enough, but it's something.  

August 5, 2021

August 17, 2021

August 24, 2021

The more recent NYT reports show details of the demographics of those vaccinated.  
This one is from today, August 27, 2021

Postscript:  The Sept. 22, 2021 issue of the Newton County Times features a brief front-page story indicating that the Newton County Courthouse is closed because of COVID-19.  The story reads:

The Newton County Office of Emergency Management announced in a Facebook Bulletin Sept. 12 that the courthouse is closed until further notice due to a COVID-19 outbreak.  The courthouse will be closed all week and is not expected to reopen Monday.  The District Court announced it would not be in session Sept. 20, advising those having business with the court to re-schedule.  

A Sept. 1 story headlined "Circuit court criminal cases adjudicated," stated that "most cases on the spring docket have been continued.  In doing so the period of continuance shall be an excluded period from the speedy trial rule."  This change is also due to COVID-19.  

The Sept. 22 story notes that the County Collector, Nedra Daniels, is working in her office "as she is already processing tax payments that are due next month.  She said she did not know when the courthouse would reopen to the public.  She said last yer when the courthouse was closed due to the pandemic, taxpayers were able to pass their payments through an open window at the courthouse office.  She said that is her plan for operating if the courthouse doesn't reopen soon."

Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, Newton County's vaccination rate hit 29% this week.  

A September 1, 2021 story in the Newton County Times announces that "NARMC 'all things COVID'" and reports that the North Arkansas Medical Center in Harrison had 14 COVID patients as of August 14, with "one on a vent" and an average age of 63.