LAUSD To Lift Outdoor Mask Mandate For Students And Staff

LOS ANGELES, CA — Nearly 600,000 students in the Los Angeles Unified School District will be allowed to ditch their masks during outdoor campus activities when they return from the President's Day holiday on Tuesday.

With an online post, new Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced the change Friday afternoon, days after county health officials lifted the outdoor mask mandate. The rules noted that while schools are closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday, anyone on campuses that day for athletic activities can also do so without masks.

The new rules state that "outdoor masking will be optional for all individuals in Los Angeles Unified schools effective February 22, 2022." Carvalho had hinted that a decision would be announced next week, much to the ire of some vocal parents, who wanted the rule changed Wednesday when the county's outdoor mask mandate ended.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Wednesday lifted its outdoor mask-wearing mandate for mega-events and for schools and child-care centers, citing plummeting COVID hospitalization numbers and an apparent end to the winter surge of virus infections.

But Carvalho took some heat when the LAUSD initially opted to keep the outdoor masking rule in place through the end of the week. He said the district wanted to take a few days to transition to the new rule and properly inform labor partners, parents and staff.

Critics of the delay lashed out on social media and blasted Carvalho, who just started as superintendent this week.

"It's your first day and you've already failed to do what's right," one person wrote online. Another wrote, "End all mandates in schools! Our children need to breathe fresh air."

It's not an easy call for the new superintendent. Since the start of the pandemic, the teacher's union pressed for protective measures, and the district negotiated with teachers to help them feel safe keeping schools open amid a pandemic that's claimed more than 30,100 lives in Los Angeles.

Though COVID-19 cases have been declining for weeks in Los Angeles, the daily death toll remains steep. On Friday, the county recorded another 70 coronavirus deaths including the death of a child between 5 and 11-years-old.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.