MA's School Mask Mandate Will Expire Feb. 28

BOSTON — Massachusetts will let its school mask mandate expire on Feb. 28 as the state looks forward to what Gov. Charlie Baker said are "the familiar and normal aspects of school life" nearly two years after the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.

Baker said during a news conference Wednesday that masks will become optional across the state unless a particular district chooses to implement one.

"There is a consequence at this point to keeping kids in masks," Baker said. "And we think we should move beyond that."

The state will also lift mask mandates on early childhood programs, however, students must remain masked up on school buses since that is a federal guideline. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is expected to release new guidance on indoor sports masking soon.

Baker and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeff Riley made the announcement with seven full school days remaining before February vacation to allow individual communities time to determine whether they will go along with the state recommendation to make masks optional or keep masking in their districts.

"During the past two years, the impact of COVID has caused a strain on (students') mental health, emotional well-being and academic success," Riley said. "We are relieved to now be in a place where we can provide children additional relief from COVID=19 restrictions so they can continue to move toward normalcy in the classroom."

Riley said the intention is to make masking in schools "individual choice" and that those students and teachers who choose to keep wearing them should be supported.

The current order mandates masks for all students and staff inside school buildings unless a school gets a waiver from the state. In order to qualify for the waiver, students and staff within a school must have an 80 percent vaccination rate.

Riley said there were 63 applications for waivers — with 42 granted — across the state in recent months. He said no new waiver requests will be considered for the seven remaining school days before February break.

The expiration of the order will allow all schools to go maskless regardless of vaccination rates and individual vaccination status.

While the new state guidance conflicts with standing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance that students and staff should wear masks inside K-12 school buildings, Baker argued that Massachusetts is in a better place than most when it comes to coronavirus vaccinations, testing availability, and low case and hospitalization levels from the recent omicron spike.

"The CDC is worrying about 50 states' worth of data and information," Baker said. "In Massachusetts, we have very high vaccination rates among our overall population and very high vaccination rates — relative to other states — among kids.

"(CDC Director Rochelle Walensky) is applying a national standard because there are 50 states out there. But within those 50 states, you have a lot of states that are in different places."

Baker concluded that while coronavirus cases will remain, it is time to get to a point where those cases do not control overwhelming aspects of school and society in general.

"It's going to be important for all of us to understand that this is something that we have to figure out how to incorporate into the way we live," he said.

Watch Gov. Baker's full news conference here: