FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – Nearly an additional 1,000 students and staff in Franklin County Schools will now have to wear masks after a change to the school’s mask policy.
Students and staff now have to have approved proof of a religious or medical exemption. According to the district, 240 students and 50 staff members are exempt from wearing masks in the building, compared to the nearly 1,200 students and staff who claimed exemptions before documents had to be submitted and approved.
“Everybody that was granted exemptions, they have a mitigation strategy in place and so far we have been able to implement all of those,” said Franklin County School’s Director of Operations, Jason Guilliams.
School leaders say the number of approved exemptions is about the same as the number who applied.