AUSTINTOWN TWP., Ohio - The Austintown Board of Education has scheduled a Wednesday afternoon work session to discuss absenteeism.

A notice from the district states that no action will be taken at the special meeting to be held Wednesday, September 29, 2021, at 3:30 PM in the Central Office Conference Room located at 700 S. Raccoon Road.

The notice does not mention COVID-19, which according to the district’s website, had infected 21 students and staff as of Monday.

Officials reported 18 active cases among students in the district’s four buildings.  Three staff members in the high school and middle school have tested positive.

Austintown schools do not have a mask or vaccine mandate, other than the federal requirement that people riding school buses were face coverings.

The district is continuing last year’s preventative measures such as hand sanitizers, wipes, cleaning protocols and recommendations for social distancing.

The CDC on Friday released three studies that it says highlights the importance of using layered preventative measures, including universal masking to stop the spread and minimize disruptions to school operations for safe in-person education.

The studies found that school districts without a universal masking policy in place were more likely to have COVID-19 outbreaks.

Nationwide, counties without masking requirements saw the number of pediatric COVID-19 cases increase nearly twice as quickly during this same period.