The following email was sent to Boise State Faculty and Staff earlier this week.
March 7, 2022
Dear Faculty and Staff,
Late last week, Ada County was reclassified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) from high down to medium COVID community level. Unless immunocompromised, the CDC does not recommend indoor masking for those in communities in the medium COVID category. Following this change, the City of Boise moved to mask optional effective today, and the Boise School District just voted to move to mask optional tomorrow.
As a result of this change in conditions, effective Monday, March 14, masks will be optional in all university-owned or controlled spaces, including instructional spaces (classrooms, studios, teaching labs and other spaces where instruction takes place) and research labs subject to the following exceptions:
- Masks are still required in University Health and Counseling Services as well as in the COVID Testing Center, COVID Vaccination Clinic, Lab and isolation hall.
- Anyone who has been exposed or tests positive for COVID must continue to mask when recommended by CDC guidelines.
- At the Boise State Children’s Center, staff and children over 2 years of age should continue to mask until further notice.
- By federal order, masks are still required on public transportation, which includes Boise State shuttles.
We recognize that some members of our community may feel uncomfortable in spaces where others are unmasked. After two years of masking, this is normal and expected. If you feel more comfortable wearing a mask, please continue to wear one. As a reminder, the university has a large supply of KN95s available for pick-up outside of the COVID Vaccine Clinic in the Campus School, in Human Resources, and at the Info Desk in the SUB.
Members of the campus community who are immunocompromised and may need an ADA accommodation but have not yet initiated the process should do so right away. It is possible that the mask requirement will temporarily remain in place in specific classrooms (or other instructional spaces) and/or labs pending resolution of accommodation requests, but absent extenuating circumstances, we expect all temporary extensions will end March 27, 2022. Students and faculty in courses impacted by such requests will be notified of the need to temporarily continue to mask in the area specified, but the university will not disclose confidential information related to the request.
To request an ADA accommodation, faculty and staff should complete a request for accommodations and a medical release authorization; students seeking accommodations should contact publichealth@boisestate.edu to initiate the accommodations process.
We appreciate your flexibility as we work through this transition. Please continue to be respectful of all members of our community, regardless of your views on masking. And finally, thank you for your continued commitment to keeping our campus healthy and safe.
Dr. John Buckwalter
Provost
Alicia Estey
Vice President for University Affairs and Chief of Staff