News Photo by Crystal Nelson Friends Quinn Kelly of Alpena and Everal Price of Troy, chat while swinging Tuesday at the Kiwanis Kiddie Park. Kelly, an incoming Alpena High School freshman, said he expects masks will be required at school in the fall. If masks are recommended and not required, Kelly said he wouldn’t wear one because he is fully vaccinated.

ALPENA — Northeast Michigan superintendents are working out the details of their masking policies for when students return to school in the fall.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services recently released new guidance for Michigan schools that makes wearing a mask a recommendation and not a requirement.

However, state health department officials are still urging students and staff to wear masks in schools as one of many prevention strategies to help protect those who are not fully vaccinated, which still includes all children under the age of 12.

Alpena Public Schools Superintendent Dave Rabbideau said district officials are planning to release their policy for the 2021-2022 school year “well in advance.”

He said district officials currently are recommending mask-wearing for anyone who is not fully vaccinated or has other health concerns.

However, Rabbideau said he is of the opinion mask wearing should be recommended but not required when students return to school.

“It’s going to be more along the lines of recommended mask wearing and we’d work, kind of monitoring what the transmission level in the community is,” he said.

Hillman Community Schools Superintendent Carl Seiter announced during the high school’s graduation recently that masks will not be required.

“I’m excited to say, barring any catastrophe for the district, suffering a loss of state aid, masks will not be required next fall,” he said. “To further that, I will not quarantine kids as close contacts. I will continue to contact trace and call the parents and identify those students as close contacts, and only ask that you monitor very closely for symptoms. Only upon the onset of symptoms would they stay home.”

Seiter said the district can accomplish a normal school year with the help of parents who keep their child home when they develop symptoms.

Other superintendents, such as Onaway Area Schools Superintendent Rod Fullerton and Alcona Community Schools Superintendent Dan O’Connor, say they are waiting until later this summer to make those determinations.

O’Connor said he has not yet entertained those conversations.

“(We’ll) probably, likely wait through July and get a feel for what the recommendations are and the requirements and likely have later conversations once we get a little farther along in the process,” O’Connor said.

Meanwhile, Rabbideau said the state is still requiring school districts to approve their COVID-19 plans each month. He said although the state health department is recommending mask wearing, district officials are still waiting for the state to release additional guidance.

“I’m hoping they will come out and say, ‘local board, superintendent, you make your determinations in cooperation with your health department,’ but they haven’t really said anything yet about what we will do,” he said.

The first day of school for APS students is Aug. 30.