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April 1, 2021

For Immediate Release:

Governor Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday that he was lifting the statewide mask mandate in Arkansas, effective immediately. After the press conference, schools were notified that this announcement does not change the guidance and recommendations for schools from the Arkansas Department of Health or Arkansas Department of Education. They both strongly advise districts to continue to follow all measures that have allowed successful in-person learning to occur, which include physical distancing, mask wearing, hand washing, cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, and identification of close contacts.

Star City School District adopted a Ready for Learning Plan for this school year in adherence to those recommendations. The procedures we have followed since the beginning of the year have helped prevent person-to-person spread of the virus among students and staff while at school. For this reason, the District will continue following ADH and ADE recommendations and the Ready for Learning Plan until further notice, which includes continuing the requirement of mask wearing. We will review our plan again as the year draws to a close after seeking public comments, and take those into consideration as we begin to plan for the 2021-2022 school year. The updated Ready for Learning Plan and Public Comment links are below:

SCSD Ready For Learning Plan

Public Comment on District Ready For Learning Plan

Official Announcement

Thank you for your continued support!