Masks Mandated In All MD Schools, Board Of Education Vote Says

MARYLAND — All Maryland students, staff and school visitors will be required to wear masks when they go to school this year, the state Board of Education decided Thursday afternoon. The vote came as the number of COVID-19 cases surges in the state and nationwide.

The order will last 180 days, and the board can rescind it during that time if it chooses. Some members said masks are necessary to preserve in-person learning, in an effort to keep kids from getting sick and having to quarantine.

Maryland joins Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and 14 states that have already mandated masks in schools for all students, staff and visitors. These include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington, according to USA Today.

Board member Shawn Bartley from Montgomery County said at the meeting that if all local districts had come up with their own safety plans, he would have voted against this mandate. However, that is not the case, he said.

“I think this regulation has been carefully crafted, and in the interest of our children I will be voting in favor of it," said Bartley.

Another board member calling into the meeting by phone said she believed there needed to be one statewide requirement in order to best keep schools in session.

“This is not about just one county today," she said. "This really needs to be a uniting community effort across the state to keep our kids in school. That’s our goal.”

Many school districts have already made their own masking mandates, including Montgomery County, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County and Prince George's County.

"As we think about prioritizing bringing them back into school for in-person instruction in the fall and to be able to prosper and learn academically to thrive in those environments, we do need to take into serious consideration what that means," said Montgomery County Superintendent Monifa McKnight when her district made the decision in July. "New information is coming forward every day, every week."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that all schools require masks for all students, staff and visitors, regardless of vaccination status, due to the delta variant.

"Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to impact our community,” said Baltimore County Schools Superintendent Darryl L. Williams when he announced its decision to require masks. “Universal masking is an important part of our multifaceted approach to mitigate the spread of COVID while keeping schools open for in-person learning," Williams said.

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Thirty-two state senators called on the state's Board of Education ahead of the meeting to encourage it to issue the emergency regulation, Maryland Matters reported.

"It is absolutely vital that the Maryland State Board of Education exercise its leadership capacity and ensure that masking is not a political football for local boards of education to litigate despite clear scientific guidance," the letter says.

In Maryland, 51.7 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.

Patch will update this breaking news story.