Boston's Catholic Schools Will Drop Mask Manadate on Feb. 28

BOSTON, MA - Boston's parochial schools will lift their mask mandate on Feb. 28, announced Thomas W. Carroll, the superintendent of the Archdiocese of Boston Catholic Schools Wednesday afternoon.

The decision is in line with the announcement made earlier Wednesday by Gov. Charlie Baker and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner (DESE) Jeffrey Riley at a televised broadcast. They announced that the mask mandate for students and staff in the state's school buildings will not be renewed when it expires on Feb. 28.

Masks will continue to be required on school buses because of the federal mandate.

"Today, in light of Gov. Baker's announcement and updated Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidance, the Archdiocese of Boston is eliminating all school masking mandates on behalf of all Archdiocesan parochial schools and Archdiocesan-related Catholic schools," Carroll said in a statement.

He added that this policy applies to children of all ages in the diocese's schools and was made in consultation with Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley.

"As always, however, we will follow any local health board mandates," Carroll continued. "Similarly, we will follow the existing federal order for mask wearing on school buses. DESE guidance on mask wearing for students returning after COVID cases will remain."

He noted that individual teachers and staff members will be allowed to wear masks at their own discretion.

"All parents can decide for their own children whether a mask for their children is advisable," Carroll said. "These personal decisions will be respected."

This change will be effective on Monday, February 28th, the first school day after February break.

"This will give schools time to adjust their policies and communicate with parents and other affected parties," he said. "In a limited number of instances, the Catholic Schools Office will consider requests from individual schools where there is a parent consensus and compelling data to continue mask wearing."

As in the past, this change of policy will not apply to Catholic schools that are independent of the Archdiocese or any Catholic schools operated by religious orders.

"We are proud of our decision to keep our Catholic schools open and doing so in a way that has kept our students, faculty and staff safe during the global pandemic," Carroll said.