Mustang Public Schools Issue New Mask Requirement For Younger Students

Mustang Public Schools announced Saturday that all Pre-K through fourth grade students will be required to wear a mask or face-covering while on any school campus or participating in any MPS activity.

The new requirement will go into effect Monday, Sept. 28.

The district made its decision based on information released Friday from the Oklahoma State School Boards Association's COVID-19 county-by-county map.

The map depicts Canadian County as an Orange Level 2, which describes a county with a rate of 25 to 50 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people. Canadian County was formerly a Yellow Level county, which describes a county with a rate of 1.43 to 14.29 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people.

"We have learned a lot by looking at our data over the past five weeks, and are using that as we evaluate our steps moving forward," Mustang Public Schools Superintendent Charles Bradley said in a statement Saturday. "We recognize that our elementary levels have been less affected than our secondary, but the trend for all levels is moving in the wrong direction. At this time, we are being cautious and not moving to a modified schedule immediately, as prescribed in the Protocols, based on several factors including the fact that we are two weeks removed from Labor Day and the recent inclusion of rapid tests into the testing data on a State level. We will continue to reevaluate this plan daily and make changes based on the most up to date data and guidance from our State and local health officials."