The Derby school board held a special meeting on Friday during which it formally approved criteria that would determine when mask mandates could be implemented. The meeting was held in response to rising COVID-19 cases among its 12 schools. The board voted 4-2 to in favor of a plan that correlates quarantine case percentages with mask requirements for each building.

Through the approved plan, if more than six percent of a building’s students and staff are out due to COVID-19 quarantine, there would be a mask requirement for two weeks. If at least 2 percent are out, masks would be strongly recommended.

The district’s COVID-19 dashboard data will be updated every Friday, and at present it show that there are currently three schools that exceed the six percent mark (or are in the “red” category). Those schools include El Paso Elementary with 45 quarantine cases of 292 students and staff members, Swaney Elementary School with 44 quarantines out of 479 students and staff, and Derby Middle School with 122 quarantine cases out of 954 students and staff.

Based on the criteria, staff, students and visitors at El Paso Elementary, Swaney Elementary and Derby Middle School will be required to wear masks from Sept. 7 to Sept. 17.

The criteria also includes a “yellow” category in which masks are strongly encouraged and “green” where masks are optional. The yellow category is applied to a building in which 2 to 5.99 percent of students and staff are out due to positive cases and total quarantine numbers. Green is applied when that percentage is 0 to 1.99.

It’s the latest district to tackle the issue as the number of COVID cases rises in schools. At Derby Middle School more than 200 students were out last week for COVID-19 quarantines.