Waivers May Be Required Before Returning to School

A lot of ideas are being tossed around to ensure the safety of our schools for the upcoming school year. One idea is signing a release waiver.

Many cities across the country are toying with the idea of creating a health release waiver that all parents would need to sign before allowing their children back to school.

Now, this hasn't been brought up at any of the educational hearings they have had here in Massachusetts; however, something similar has been in place for workplaces that are now bringing people back to the offices. It's a form that protects the company, or in this case, would protect the school department from lawsuits if a student contracted the virus.

There would be a bunch of legal information in there, including what actions the schools are taking to follow CDC regulations and keep students safe.

The waiver would protect schools from those potential lawsuits or other costs. You as a parent would basically be saying if your child gets COVID-19, you can't blame the school.

Schools that have already implemented this in other parts of the country also have the option for students to learn from home, providing them with everything from computers to broadband and WiFi access.

Many parents need their kids to go back to school so they can go back to work, so this may be the only way.

Since I'm not a parent I really don't have a leg to stand on, on whether signing something like this would be something I would do.

If Massachusetts decides that a waiver must be signed before students can return to school, would you sign it? Does this seem like a reasonable thing for schools to ask?