Young students in Windsor-Essex are no longer exempt from having to wear a mask when they ride the school bus.
Windsor-Essex Student Transportation Services (WESTS), which oversees school bus operations for all four of the region's publicly-funded school boards, said Wednesday afternoon that students from junior kindergarten to Grade 3 will now be required to wear a face covering.
WESTS' board of directors passed a motion requiring all students who ride the bus to wear a mask, regardless of grade level.
The policy takes effect immediately, but Gabrielle McMillan, WESTS general manager, said they want to give families time to adjust, and enforcement will not begin until school resumes in January, after the winter holidays.
"Communication through our website and the boards’ social media platforms will inform students and their families of the new protocol," said McMillan in a media release. "Beginning in the new year, children will not be able to board the bus unless they are wearing a face mask. However, we know that many of these students are already wearing masks and expect that they will begin complying with the new protocol sooner rather than later."
The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board first passed a motion requiring across-the-board mask use in late September. The Greater Essex County District School Board followed suit in mid-November. Conseil scolaire Viamonde had already mandated mask-use for all bus riders.
Complete guidelines on bus transportation during the pandemic can be found at BusKids.ca. Parents can refer to this site at any time for potential bus delays or bad-weather cancellations.