<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1595338227926.png" alt=" A classroom at Jardine Elementary in Topeka in 2019. Chris Neal / For the Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> A classroom at Jardine Elementary in Topeka in 2019. Chris Neal / For the Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRIAN GRIMMETT <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/kansas-governor-says-masks-are-non-negotiable-schools-and-pleads-delaying-classes">Kansas News Service</a>WICHITA — Students,
 teachers and staff members at K-12 schools in Kansas will wear masks, 
use hand sanitizer once an hour, socially distance and have their 
temperatures taken daily. That’s according to <a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/EO-20-59-Signed.pdf">a new statewide mandate </a>from Gov. Laura Kelly, who says she does not need approval to institute the COVID-19 safety regulations.She
 also plans to delay all instruction and extracurricular activities — 
including sports — until Sept. 8, after Labor Day. This <a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/EO-20-58-unsigned.pdf">second executive order</a> must be voted on by the state Board of Education, which will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday.Kelly
 said she is committed to protecting Kansans “regardless of the 
political pushback” that already has happened in some communities 
regarding delaying the 2020-21 school year.“I’m asking each 
state Board of Education member to put politics aside and think about 
our children, their parents, their teachers and the survival of our Main
 Street businesses,” she said in a news conference Monday.More 
than 300 Kansans have died from COVID-19, and the number of cases has 
spiked in the last month to almost 24,000 — with more than 2,600 since 
July 13 alone.Last week, the Board of Education issued <a href="https://www.kcur.org/education/2020-07-14/expect-to-see-more-masks-and-occasional-closures-as-kansas-reopens-schools">a hefty document</a>
 full of recommendations on reopening schools safely, prioritizing 
in-person elementary-school education and noting that it’s likely 
teachers, staff, students and family may need to quarantine for 14 days 
when a school has a positive coronavirus case.There are 
exceptions in Kelly’s order regarding safety protocols. Masks won’t be 
required during eating, “activities that cannot be safely conducted with
 a mask or other facial covering,” people with medical conditions and 
other reasons. Also, the order says that the six-foot social distancing 
guideline doesn’t apply during in-person instruction in classrooms when 
masks or other face coverings are being worn.Brian Grimmett is a two-time Regional Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist covering energy and environment stories across the state of Kansas.

Kelly: Masks non-negotiable in schools, pleads for delaying classes