NJ K-12 Students Must Wear Masks This Fall, Gov. Murphy Says

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey students, educators, staff and visitors will once again be wearing face masks in school buildings - regardless of vaccination status - when the new school year begins in September, Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Friday.

“We understand that students learn best in a classroom setting and [we] remain committed to having our schools open for full-time, in-person instruction this fall," Murphy said during an appearance at Memorial Elementary School in East Brunswick. "While this announcement gives us no pleasure, I know that by taking this precaution we can keep our schools open while also keeping our children safe. We will continue to closely monitor the science and data and will lift this mandate when we can do so safely. I urge those who are eligible for vaccination but have yet to be vaccinated to act and help move our state in the right direction.”

Murphy said he hopes the masking requirement for school buildings is not a permanent step. While it is in effect, the following exceptions will be made:

• When doing so would inhibit the individual’s health, such as when the individual is exposed to extreme heat indoors;
• When the individual has trouble breathing, is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance;
• When a student’s documented medical condition or disability, as reflected in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Educational Plan pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, precludes use of a face covering;
• When the individual is under two (2) years of age;
• When an individual is engaged in an activity that cannot be performed while wearing a mask, such as eating and drinking or playing an instrument that would be obstructed by the face covering;
• When the individual is engaged in high-intensity aerobic or anerobic activity;
• When a student is participating in high-intensity physical activities during a physical education class in a well-ventilated location and able to maintain a physical distance of six feet from all other individuals; or
• When wearing a face covering creates an unsafe condition in which to operate equipment or execute a task.

“We cannot waver in our commitment to protecting the health and safety of students and staff as the pandemic is surging,” New Jersey Education Association President Marie Blistan said. “Above all, we remain committed to providing our students with the best possible educational experience this year. They deserve it, and we are determined to make sure they have it.”

During a May news conference, Murphy noted that students and staff would likely be wearing masks in the beginning of the school year. However, the following month, he shifted course and announced that the state would allow individual school districts to implement their own face mask policies. Read more: No Mask Mandate For NJ Students This Fall, Gov. Murphy Says

"After a school year where the majority of our students spent significant time learning remotely, the upcoming school year will see a return to normal," Murphy said during a June press conference.

This is a developing story. Patch will have more information as it comes in.

The news comes amid updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which now recommends that even vaccinated individuals wear masks in areas of high or substantial transmission — which is most of the nation (of all 21 counties in New Jersey, only Warren is exempt from the "substantial" or "high" transmission categories). Read more: Face Masks Should Be Worn In Nearly All NJ Counties, CDC Says

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the New Jersey Education Association also support the CDC's updated guidance on face masks. Health officials, including those at the CDC, have warned of rising coronavirus case numbers in New Jersey, possibly driven by the more contagious delta variant. Vaccines are available for students ages 12-15 years old, but children ages 11-and-under still have no option for being vaccinated.

“Here in New Jersey we have seen a concerning rise in viral spread,” said Dr. Jeanne Craft, President of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “A hopeful spring has become a worrisome summer. The conditions have changed, the risk is higher, especially for children. We need to move forward with an abundance of caution. We have come so far, but we need to continue to rely on scientific evidence and expert advice to keep children, teachers, school staff and communities as safe as possible.”

“Today, as school leaders, we can breathe a collective sigh of relief as school districts can now put the increasingly divisive debate about masking in schools in the rearview mirror,” New Jersey Association of School Administrators President Dr. Janet Fike said. “Thank you, Governor Murphy and countless medical and health professionals, for recognizing that medical science must govern the masking debate.”

But Murphy's announcement doesn't come without its critics.

"Governor Phil Murphy has done it again," Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli said in response to Murphy's announcement. "His decision to require masks for K-12 students is a bewildering reversal of his position of just a few weeks ago ... If someone wants to have their child wear a mask, they should feel free to do so, but it's not something that should be forced on children, nor should their learning be inhibited in any way. Finally, this feels like the first step towards another Murphy lockdown, which is something our children, businesses, and taxpayers cannot afford or are willing to accept."

“Today’s edict is devoid of any science and data in its support," State Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-Essex/Morris/Passaic) said. "After all the deaths, shutdowns and closed businesses, should this Governor be taken seriously? The sad fact is masks inhibit communication in classrooms and obstruct learning. My Republican colleagues and I held a virtual hearing on masks, and we heard from experts who asserted that masks in school are more trouble than they are worth. This is yet another unilateral mandate announced by the Governor that ignores the elected Legislature and the role of parents in protecting their children. Now is not the time to revert to unjustified mask mandates.”

“This mandate is a clear overreaction. It feels like we’re rolling back the clock to more than a year ago, but situations are much different,” State Sen. Steve Oroho (R-Morris/Sussex/Warren) said. “Should the kids wear masks? Only the parents should be making that call.”

“We all knew when the Democrats passed that water-downed bill to ‘end the emergency’ that there were enough loopholes in it to allow the Governor to do almost whatever he wanted to do,” Assemblyman Parker Space (R-Morris/Sussex/Warren) said.

“School boards have been hearing from students and parents in public meetings for months, yet they have been tossed aside in the decision making,” Assemblyman Hal Wirths (R-Morris/Sussex/Warren) said. “Local districts are in the best position to make these decisions and they should be allowed to do their job. We know children are the least at risk for this virus and the most at risk for the long-term negative effects on mental health that all these mandates could cause.”

“What I am hearing is that mandating masks makes things more difficult for everyone,” said Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-Morris), a parent of two school-age children and the husband of a teacher. “The governor’s new mandate and the CDC recommendations are looking at the issue from only one angle,” continued Bergen. “They are not considering the damage to our kid’s emotional wellbeing. We need to add that element, and when we do, the answer is no mandatory masking in schools. The long-term harm to kids from masking is psychologically enormous and disrupts learning.”

Murphy has said for months that the "virus dictates the terms," and the delta variant has fueled a recent spike in the number of new coronavirus cases in the Garden State. Following the CDC's updated masking guidance last month, Murphy and Department of Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli stated that they "strongly recommend" face masks in settings where there is "increased risk."

Those settings include crowded indoor settings, indoor settings with close contact with others who may not be vaccinated and settings where an individual is at increased risk for severe disease.

Earlier this week, Murphy and other officials announced a vaccine mandate for many health care workers throughout the state, with affected employees required to take regular COVID-19 tests if they're not fully vaccinated against the disease. Read more: COVID Vaccines, Testing Now Mandatory For NJ Health Care Staff

Several big-box stores in the Garden State, including Starbucks, Dunkin', Home Depot, McDonalds, Kohls and more have recently reinstated masking policies for employees (and some for customers, too). Read more: NJ Businesses Change Mask Rules As COVID Cases Surge

The idea of children wearing face masks in schools has seen mixed opinions, specifically among guardians. While some parents feel it is safer and their children should wear masks in schools, others argue that decision should be left to the parents.

Last month, Princeton-based attorney Bruce Afran has filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents who are part of the group Free NJ Kids against Murphy to block any mask mandates that might be reinstated ahead of the fall school year. Read more: Lawsuit To Block Mask Mandates Filed By Princeton Attorney

According to the lawsuit, mandatory "wearing of masks by schoolchildren burdens and impairs protected speech rights," and the mandatory use of plexiglass dividers "confines and imprisons children, separates them from their friends and teachers and introduces an unnatural form of control upon children in the classroom without parental consent."

The state's Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) voiced its support for Murphy's decision.

"New Jersey PTA supports following the latest and most up to date guidance from the CDC and acknowledges Governor Murphy’s difficult decision," PTA President Candy Fredericks said. It is the goal of New Jersey PTA to ensure that each and every student in New Jersey is able to have a safe, happy, and equitable learning environment as we begin school in September and way past the pandemic."

"The New Jersey State School Nurses Association (NJSSNA) supports universal masking in schools,” NJSSNA President Donna Pleus said. “We must implement the safest public health mitigation strategies that have proven protective for our New Jersey school children and staff."

During a Wednesday news conference in Union City, Murphy interrupted himself to clap back at a group of anti-vax protesters carrying signs reading "No Forced Injections" and "Forced Medical Procedures Are Crimes Against Humanity." Read more: NJ Governor Loses His Cool With Anti-Vaccine Protesters

"These folks back there have lost their minds," Murphy said. "You are the ultimate knuckleheads … And because of what you are saying and standing for, people are losing their [lives]."

On Tuesday, New Jersey reported a seven-day average of 977 for newly confirmed COVID cases - more than quadruple the seven-day average a month ago, per NJ.com. There were 1,345 new cases reported on Friday, with four new lab-confirmed deaths.

Since March 2020, there have been 913,845 total confirmed cases and 23,917 confirmed deaths.

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