Massachusetts to Lift Statewide School Mask Mandate

BOSTON - On February 9, 2022, Massachusetts Commissioner for Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey Riley announced that the Commonwealth will be lifting it’s statewide mask mandate for public and private schools, instead leaving it up to individual school districts to set their own masking policies.

“We have the tools to keep schools safe,” the Commonwealth’s Republican Governor, Charles D. Baker, said in a statement shortly after Riley’s announcement. It should be noted that the rescission of the mandate is not exactly universal, as the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has no say over masking on school buses (which, as per federal order, will still be required) and the department still expects students who test positive for COVID to mask for five days after returning to school.

The order, which will take effect on February 28, 2022, has garnered both praise and scorn from residents of the Commonwealth. Those opposed to mandates have generally praised the decision as a way to bring normalcy to the lives of children disrupted by the pandemic, while those in favor of mandates have called the order premature, ill-timed, dangerous, and politically motivated.

“Incredibly thankful right now (and a little teary),” one Connie Boswell tweeted on Wednesday. “I just received the long-awaited email that my children’s school is going mask optional on 2/28. I’m so happy for my kids.”

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Laura White, a biostatistics professor at Boston University and infectious disease researcher, tweeted that she felt the decision “premature.” With a link to a Boston.com article on the end of the mandate attached to the tweet, she quoted the governor’s “we have the tools to keep schools safe” comment, musing “-that includes good masks. How do we re-implement masks when there is another [more destructive] variant?” Her tweet got substantially less interaction than Ms. Boswell’s.

The decision to rescind the mandate was made public just a few days after data was released that showed that children were contracting Covid at a rate of over 2,000 cases per 100,000 people for every age demographic 19 or under in the Commonwealth, with children aged 5 to 9 having the highest infection rate, 2,538.9 cases per 100,000 people, and teenagers and young adults aged 15 to 19 experiencing the lowest infection rate, 2,127 cases per 100,000 people.

Despite this relatively high pediatric infection rate and the fact that the worst of the virus in terms of infection came just a few weeks ago, Baker has defended his administration’s decision, saying “given the extremely low risk for young people, the widespread availability and the proven effectiveness of the vaccines and the distribution of accurate test protocols and tests, it's time to give our kids a sense of normalcy and lift the mask mandate on a statewide basis for schools. COVID, like many other respiratory diseases that we’re familiar with, will be with us for the foreseeable future.”

Some parents and pro-mask advocates are concerned by the timing of the mandate rescission. February 28th is the day that February vacation ends for many schools across Massachusetts, and there is a concern that travel brought on by the break will cause COVID rates to skyrocket. “WHY would this happen right after February break when everyone has been traveling?! I was the only person in my office suite in high school after Christmas vacation who didn’t have COVID. Kids were affected by their teachers, counselors, admin, and classmates being out sick,” one teacher replied to DESE’s official announcement of the end of the mandate on Twitter.

Democrats have been especially critical of Governor Baker’s decision, and some see it as a ploy to boost support for Republican candidates in the upcoming elections this November. State Senator Joanne Comerford, the senator for Orange, Wendell, Warwick, and New Salem, among other localities, commented that the administration’s decision seemed irresponsible. “It does feel like the administration is not grappling adequately with the disproportionate risk to lifting masks universally,” she said, highlighting the fact that while Massachusetts has one of the highest rates of vaccination in the country, the rates of vaccination from area to area can range radically, especially among younger populations.

Several school districts, especially those in bigger cities, have decided to not remove their mask mandates. Boston Public Schools, Northampton Public Schools, and Springfield Public Schools have all announced that their mandates will remain in effect for the foreseeable future, and Worcester Public Schools have announced that a rescission of their mandate will not occur before the municipal Board of Health meets to discuss the matter in early March.

The Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District has announced that it will not be lifting it’s mandate before March.

The CDC continues to recommend that schools continue to require masks to stop the spread of the virus and ensure the health and safety of everyone, including those who may be infected by asymptomatic pediatric carriers of COVID. Massachusetts Secretary of Education James Peyser, while defending DESE’s decision, told GBH News that the Commonwealth will continue to recommend masking indoors even if it is no longer statewide policy.

It remains to be seen the effect this order will have on COVID rates among children across the Commonwealth.