Parents, teachers raise concerns about B.C.'s updated COVID-19 guidelines for schools

With students returning to classes in less than two weeks, the B.C. government has updated its COVID-19 guidelines for K-12 schools – and some parents and teachers aren't happy, believing more needs to be done to protect students.

Unlike the start of the last school year, masks will be optional.

"The decision to wear a mask beyond when it is required by public health is a personal one, based on individual preference. Some students and staff may choose to continue to wear a nonmedical mask or face covering throughout the day or for certain activities," reads the plan.

"The choice of staff and students to choose whether they practice additional personal prevention measures should be respected," it continues.

"Rigorous" hand washing with plain soap and water and the use of effective hand sanitizers are also recommended, and the province continues to encourage parents to vaccinate their kids.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, B.C.'s provincial health officer urged the public to "ensure that your children are up to date on their routine vaccinations and that they get vaccinated against COVID-19."

"Getting your children vaccinated is the best way to protect them from vaccine-preventable illnesses that can cause serious illness, long-term disability and even death," Dr. Bonnie Henry said in the statement.

Despite the measures outlined in the updated guideline, Jennifer Heighton, a teacher and co-founder of Safe Schools Coalition B.C., said more needs to be done, including updating the ventilation in schools.

"It's really frustrating because some places like Ontario have accepted HEPA filtration as a good way of filtering the air and getting rid of viruses," she said.

The province said it's invested more than $166 million into upgrading and improving classroom ventilation since the start of the pandemic, but some haven't seen those upgrades, including Kyenta Martins, the vice chair of the Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council.

"Good air means everything and parents want in-school learning where the air is safe," she said.

"And to know the air is safe, we need things like indoor air quality measurements, like CO2 monitors, to know where we need HEPA filtration, where we need to improve the HVAC. And we haven't heard that. We haven't been provided that information," she continued.

Martins said she doesn't feel safe letting her kids go to school and will ensure they wear their mask.

"As a parent, it's really concerning because we're being told to put our children in a situation where we cannot assess our personal risk," she said.

"Every family and every person has a different risk tolerance and has a different medical history and we want, as an organization, we want a school system that is safe for everyone," she added.