Beverly Hills Students Can Drop Their Masks Starting March 12

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Beverly Hills students can ditch their masks indoors starting March 12, the district announced Monday.

State and Los Angeles County authorities on Monday announced the end to indoor mask-wearing requirements for schoolchildren starting at 11:59 p.m. on March 11.

The Beverly Hills Unified School District will follow suit, making indoor masking optional rather than mandatory at district schools, Superintendent Michael Bregy announced Monday. The district on Feb. 16 dropped its outdoor mask mandate in line with state and county guidance.

Individual districts have the option to be more — but not less — restrictive than the Los Angeles County Public Health Department. The adjusted state and county guidance does not necessarily mean all school districts in California will drop their mandates.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has not yet decided whether it will drop its indoor masking requirement, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

The San Francisco Unified School District board decided to keep its mask mandate until the end of the year.

The Beverly Hills district's decision came amid tense community discussions about the district's masking policies. Many parents and community members have long called for an end to masking policies, but many others encouraged the district to keep mask requirements in place.

At the board of education's contentious Feb. 8 meeting, about 30 community members asked for an end to district mask mandates while nearly 70 submitted written public comments in support of continued mask and testing requirements.

The district encouraged students and staff to continue wearing masks if they choose and will provide personal protective equipment to community members who email covid@bhusd.org.

"I thank you for your continued support in navigating this pandemic and am grateful for this much-needed light at the end of the tunnel," Bregy said.