Steady stream of superintendents and school boards make masks optional even as the CDC urges keeping COVID precautions until the end of the school year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that there isn't enough time for schools to adequately adjust their policies and procedures to ensure safety.
"Of course, we will continue to follow the science, and should there be a localized outbreak or other emergency, we will act accordingly," Gov. Murphy said. "Otherwise, buildings will be fully open."
Education analysts, philanthropists and advocates – many of whom spent the past year and a half working from their living rooms far removed from the classroom challenges of COVID – have laid out ambitious goals for schools that leave little room for rest or recovery.
The full return to classrooms should also bring together educators, administrators, families and communities to bring about a renaissance in instruction and student support, she said.
Superintendents and entire states reacted quickly, adjusting masking rules for schools after the CDC said fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear them.
Doubts about school safety among Black and brown communities hardest hit by COVID can be overcome with prevention strategies, testing and vaccinations, a poll shows.
