WA State Superintendent Ready To Remove Student Mask Mandate

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington's top educator says the time has come to remove the state's mask mandate for students.

In a statement shared Wednesday, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal said declining COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations, plus high vaccination and immunity rates, means schools can now "carefully plan" a move back to mask-free learning.

"With high immunity rates and our ability to carry out rapid antigen tests with nearly every school district participating in our state’s COVID-19 testing program, the time is now to rebalance the health and educational benefits of masking in our schools," Reykdal said. "As part of the transition from pandemic to endemic, I believe it is safe and timely to eliminate the statewide masking requirement for students and allow for a decision by local health officials. I recommend the Governor and Department of Health change the guidance to reflect this in the coming weeks."

Reykdal's statement came the same day that Gov. Jay Inslee announced that Washington would not yet end the indoor mask mandate, saying it was still too early to fully remove broad masking requirements for indoor public spaces. The governor did say, however, that changes would be coming as soon as public health guidance deems it safe to do so.

"The day is coming, fairly soon, when we don't have a broad mask mandate for indoor public spaces, or for our schools," Inslee said. "We're going to do that by following the science to make the right decision. We don't make decisions based on social internet culture wars over masks. We do not require masks for symbolism. We require them because they work, and now we believe we are in a place to transition to a different state."

While Washington's mask mandate remains — at least for now — several other states, like New York, California and Oregon, have begun to roll back indoor masking requirements. Reykdal says that may not be the right decision for every school district, but that it is time to give masking decisions back to schools and local health officials, instead of maintaining a fixed statewide policy.

"Current laws empower local health officials to assess health and safety risks and determine local strategies," Reykdal said. "Given the varied vaccination rates and adherence to other mitigation strategies across the regions in our state, it is time to return decision-making to local health officials. In some cases, local health officials may require temporary returns to masking or other mitigation strategies if cases spike or if a new variant poses elevated risks."

However, the decision to revoke the mandate lies in the hands of the governor and the Washington State Department of Health, which Reykdal acknowledged.

"As a reminder, masks are still required in the school environment at this time per Department of Health requirements," Reykdal said. "This is ultimately a decision of the Governor, with professional guidance from officials at the Department of Health, and I will uphold and respect their ultimate decision and guidance for our students and school personnel."

>> Read Superintendent Chris Reykdal's full statement.