Local school boards are set to have the choice on mask requirements back in their hands starting Jan. 17.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday that the state mandate on masks inside school buildings, which has been in place since early September, will be lifted for K-12 schools.

“We are in a different place than we were?in September, and it is time to prepare for a transition back to?a more?normal?setting,” Wolf said in a prepared statement.?”Unfortunately, the COVID-19 virus is now a part of our daily lives,?but with the knowledge we’ve gained over the past?20 months and critical tools like the vaccine?at our disposal,?we must take the next step forward in our recovery. With more than 70 percent of adults vaccinated in Pennsylvania and the recently expanded vaccine eligibility, I strongly encourage parents to take safety measures to protect your children and your family - like getting vaccinated.”

Many local school districts, including Jim Thorpe, had health and safety plans approved prior to the 2021-22 school year starting that called for parents to have the option on whether their child would wear or not wear a mask.

“We had a parental choice plan that was in effect and then the governor’s mandate hit, so I would imagine that the Jim ­Thorpe board, when we reconvene, will see if we want to continue with that original plan we had in place,” Superintendent John Rushefski said in reaction to Monday’s news.

He added that COVID-19 numbers around the area have been trending in the right direction, leaving the district excited about the mask mandate news.

“Confirmed cases are dropping and hospitalizations are dropping, so we’re thrilled about this and where we are headed,” Rushefski said. “In terms of our school, we are hanging in there with our cases. I can’t say we’ve had nothing because we have had some incidents across the district, but our cases have been mild and we’re glad that they’ve been mild and nobody has been getting seriously sick.”

Carbon County saw 21 fewer cases over the past week than the week prior. Average daily hospitalizations are also down from 7.7 to 4.4.

Following the announcement of the state mandate in early September, Tamaqua Area School District’s board of directors voted to defy the order and keep masking optional for its students. Later that month, the board voted to make masks mandatory, but allow parents to submit exemption forms without a doctor’s signature.

The mandate was a pivotal topic during this year’s school board elections throughout Pennsylvania.

Locally, Lehighton Area School District will have three first-term directors when the mandate expires in January. All three, Barbara Bowes, Kerry Sittler and Walter Zlomsowitch, advocated in the lead-up to the election for parental choice on masking should the decision be left to school boards.

Lehighton Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said masking will continue to be a topic under old business during board meetings leading up to the Jan. 17 deadline.

“We’re going to be sending a survey out to our parents and guardians of our students here as directed at the last board meeting, so we’ll have those results for discussion for our November board meeting,” Cleaver said. “The board will be making a decision one way or another on how they’d like to move forward at that point.”

Not included in Wolf’s announcement Monday was how lifting the mask mandate would impact the state’s quarantining recommendations. How that plays out, Cleaver said, could impact local decision-making.

“If you’re lifting the face covering mandate and keeping the current quarantine guidelines there, you’re going to be affecting a large number of students,” he said. “With every positive case, you could have up to 20 students quarantining. I think at this point all of that is going to come down to the local level on how you handle those situations. Do you follow the quarantining by CDC guidelines or do you notify the close contacts that you have and then it’s the parents’ decision to decide whether or not to send them back if they have no signs or symptoms?”

Northern Lehigh Superintendent Matthew Link said the district will also reevaluate its masking protocols based on the mask mandate being lifted.

“We will review the forthcoming frequently asked questions and any additional information the department puts out over the next few weeks concerning the expiration of the order on Jan. 17 and use that information to plan for any changes to our health and safety plan,” Link said.

The statewide mandate comes to an end after the federal approval of a COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 5.

“I hope this helps the students feel better about things as well,” Rushefski said. “They are the most important person in the equation.”