Massachusetts to Drop School Mask Mandate at the End of the Month

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker speaks to the press at the Hynes Convention Center FEMA Mass Vaccination Site in Boston, Mass., on March 30, 2021. Erin Clark-Pool/Getty Images

Massachusetts will soon no longer require public school students, teachers, and staff to wear masks while indoors, joining a growing list of states that have phased out their classroom mask mandates.

The current statewide mask mandate for public schools will not be extended once it expires on Feb. 28, Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeff Riley said Wednesday. Instead, it will be left to individual school districts to decide their own mask policies.

“During the past two years, the impact of COVID-19 on children has caused a strain on their mental health, emotional well-being, and academic success,” Riley said. “We are relieved to now be in a place where we can provide young people additional relief from COVID-19 restrictions so they can continue to return to normalcy in the classroom.”

That being said, students and staff will still have to wear masks in “certain scenarios,” including when a student tests positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus that causes COVID-19.

In that case, the student must stay home for five days before returning to school. Following the 5-day isolation period, he or she must mask for 5 additional days.

In addition, students have to still wear masks on school buses, since the federal mask mandate for public transportation remains in place.

“The CDC (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention) states that passengers and drivers on school buses must wear a mask unless the driver is the only person on the bus,” the U.S. Department of Transportation said. “This requirement applies to all school buses whether publicly or privately owned.”

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Democrat, said the mask mandate can be eased because the state “has all the tools” to keep schools safe.

“With Massachusetts a national leader in vaccinating kids, combined with our robust testing programs, it is time to lift the mask mandate in schools and give students and staff a sense of normalcy after dealing with enormous challenges over the past two years,” Baker said in a statement.

Baker’s announcement came on the heels of several other Democratic governors who said they will phase out in the coming weeks mask requirements for schools in their states, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

As of Wednesday, 13 states and the District of Columbia have ongoing mask mandates for schools. Those states are California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.