Massachusetts to lift school mask mandate Feb. 28
(The Center Square) – Massachusets’ statewide school mask requirement will be lifted Feb. 28.
Jeffrey C. Riley, who serves as commissioner of the state’s Department of Elementary and Second Education, made the announcement Wednesday that students and staff in public and private K-12 schools will only have to wear masks in certain scenarios with the department’s updated COVID-19 protocols.
“During the past two years, the impact of COVID-19 on children has caused a strain on their mental health, emotional well-being, and academic success,” Riley said in a news release. “We are relieved now to be in a place where we can provide young people additional relief from COVID-19 restrictions so they can continue to return to normalcy in the classroom.”
Gov. Charlie Baker said the state has all the tools necessary “to keep schools safe as we move into dealing with the next phase of managing COVID.”
The decision featured input from infectious disease physicians, the state Department of Public Health, and medical experts, according to the release. Currently, 52% of vaccinated people in the state have received a booster shot compared to 42% nationally.
The department also said it will be lifting mask requirements for all licensed child care providers as well, according to the release. The programs will be granted the authority to make their own policies. Next week, the Department of Early Education and Care will release additional guidance.
As the school mask policy is lifted, districts will not have to request a waiver from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in order to remove masks inside buildings with more than three-quarters of students and staff already being vaccinated.
While school districts can create their own masking requirements, masking is now largely a community choice, according to the release. However, many schools across that state have already surpassed benchmarks for unmasking and have asked the state for permission to remove masks.
Currently, 68 requests have been sent to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education from schools stating the 80% threshold has been met and 42 of those requests have been approved. The department is still assessing an additional 21 requests.
Education Secretary James Peyser said that while the state has one of the highest vaccine rates in the country, “we must navigate the careful transition to opening up our society” while enacting public health mitigation protocols.
“We are moving from mask requirements to mask optional, and we want school districts to move along with the state by making it optional, while still creating supportive environments for students and staff who choose to wear a mask,” Peyser said.
Massachusetts joins Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey in recently lifting school mask requirements.
While masking is no longer mandated beginning Feb. 28, schools are still required to continue testing programs, according to the release. In an effort to optimize classroom learning, the state will offer teachers and students who participate two at-home rapid tests per week. In addition, data from the Test and Stay program shows very few positive cases and low transmission rates among school populations.
Test and Stay data, according to the release, shows that among the 503,312 tests conducted through Jan. 9, nearly 99% of the test results were negative.
While masks won’t be required in schools, according to the release, masks on buses will remain a requirement per federal order.
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