Going to school without a mask is now—or soon will be—an option for students in almost every district in the U.S. as the last few major mask mandates—including those in California and New York City—are set to expire within the next few weeks.
The governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced on Monday that mask mandates will be lifted in their states on March 11. “Masks are an effective tool to minimize spread of the virus and future variants, especially when transmission rates are high,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “We cannot predict the future of the virus, but we are better prepared for it and will continue to take measures rooted in science to keep California moving forward.”
High vaccination rates and the steady decline in hospitalizations prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to discontinue New York’s school mask mandate on March 2. New York has also sent nearly 10 million COVID tests home with students in recent weeks.
“Because New Yorkers have stepped up, we can confidently remove the statewide mask requirement in our schools,” Hochul said. “This is a huge step forward for our kids and communities and I am grateful to the students, educators and parents for their dedication to keeping us all safe. We’ve reached this milestone because of your hard work.”
Students in the nation’s largest school district will also soon be able to attend class without face coverings. Mayor Eric Adams said he expects to drop New York City’s school mask mandate on Monday, March 7. “Our schools have been among the safest places for our children since the beginning of the pandemic, and we will continue to make the proper public health decisions to keep our kids safe, including making masks available for any child or school staff member who wishes to continue wearing them,” Adams said.
More than a million New York City school children will return to class tomorrow. If our numbers continue to show a low level of risk, we will remove the indoor mask mandate for public school students, effective Monday, March 7.
We will make a final decision on Friday, March 4.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) February 27, 2022
Mask mandates are not being renewed in several of the most liberal states that had been the most adamant about keeping the requirements in place. Many districts in Connecticut went mask optional Monday as the state’s mandate ended. Massachusetts lifted its mandate on Monday and Vermont schools with an 80% vaccination rate can now make masks optional. Illinois’ indoor mask mandate, which covers schools, ended on Feb. 28 and Rhode Island’s mandate expires on March 4.
Several big cities are also dropping their requirements. Denver’s mandate ended on Friday and Memphis-Shelby County Schools in Tennessee lifted its mandate on Monday. But masks are still required in Boston and Chicago schools, and in Kentucky, Fayette County Public Schools officials announced that its mandate will remain in place.
“For much of the country it’s a better picture,” Lexington-Fayette County Health Commissioner Joel McCullough said. “For Fayette County and most of Central Kentucky, the COVID-19 community level is still high. We are moving in the right direction, but I would not recommend lowering our layered prevention measures while we are at a high level [of cases].”
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