A special meeting of the White Hall School Board is set for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to hear a request from parents to overturn the mask mandate the board voted on just before school started.
One of the parents, Laura Golden, told Deltapex News last week that she had taken petitions to Superintendent Doug Dorris bearing the names and signatures of about 100 parents opposed to the mandate which currently applies to all students and faculty members.
Those who desired to speak at the meting had to notify the school district by last Friday.
Currently, the Pine Bluff School District, which includes Dollarway has a mask mandate. In the Watson Chapel District, there is no mandate, but students and faculty members are strongly encouraged to wear masks to reduce the spread of COVID-19, particularly the Delta Variant.
Both the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Southeast Arkansas College also have mask mandates.
According to the Associated Press, the Arkansas Department of Health reported 3,102 active cases of the Coronavirus is schools across the state last Thursday.
A majority of students in the state are attending districts that require masks since a state judge temporarily blocked a state law that prevented school districts from imposing a mask mandate.
On Friday, a Lonoke County Circuit Judge ruled against a group of parents who sued to block schools in Cabot from requiring face masks.
The Associated Press reported that the active cases last week were in 173 school districts with Bentonville, Springdale, Rogers, Cabot and the Fort Smith Districts all reporting over 100 active cases among students, faculty and staff.
