Starting March 12, masks will be strongly recommended, but not required on California’s TK-12 campuses.
California Governor Gavin Newsom made the announcement on Feb. 28 in a joint press release with the Governors of Oregon and Washington.
“California continues to adjust our policies based on the latest data and science, applying what we’ve learned over the past two years to guide our response to the pandemic,” Newsom wrote. He said masks remain an “effective tool” to minimize spreading the virus when transmission rates are high.
“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,” Newsom wrote.
While schools must wait to drop mask mandates, on March 1, the state stopped requiring masks in most other public indoor settings regardless of vaccination status. Masks will still be required on public transit and in health-care settings.
The shift is attributed to a continuing decline in the number of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Orange County is at a medium level, meaning based on metrics like hospitalization rates and new cases, vaccinations are encouraged and masks are recommended for people at high risk for severe illness.
While local jurisdictions can choose to continue requiring masks, the Los Alamitos Unified School District said starting March 12, it will no longer enforce the mask mandate at its nine schools in Rossmoor, Seal Beach Los Alamitos.
“I’m excited to see a clear timeline for our families to get the choice many have been advocating for,” Los Al USD Board of Education President Diana Hill wrote in a text message to Spotlight Schools.
Students across California have been required to wear masks since classes resumed for in-person instruction in the 2020-2021 school year. Masks have been part of a layered approach to prevent virus transmission on campuses that includes improved ventilation, increased cleaning, and vaccinations.
The mandate will end almost exactly two years since the day schools shut down when the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S.
For Los Al USD, that was on March 13, 2020.
“For the past 2 years, our entire community made tremendous sacrifices to keep everyone safe enabling us to open our schools and keep them open,” Board member Marlys Davidson wrote in a statement noting the district was one of the first in the state to offer in-person instruction in the fall of 2020. “Our students demonstrated such courage. However, it took a toll not only on learning but also on social-emotional well-being for many of them. Being able to see faces and read emotions is important. I am glad families will now have a choice about masks.”
Supporters and opponents have discussed the mask mandate at numerous school board meetings over the course of the pandemic.
In mid-February, some district parents started sending their kids to school without masks to protest the state’s mask rules. Students refusing to wear masks were placed in an alternative setting outside of their classroom and given independent work, according to the district.
Gina Anderson’s kids participated in the anti-mask mandate protests. While she’s glad to see an end date in sight, she questioned why it’s two weeks away.
“It is hard to understand why not do it now, since the rest of the state besides schools are allowed [to not wear masks],” Anderson wrote in a text message.
The two weeks matter because risk could be even lower by then, according to Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, who held a press conference Monday afternoon.
“If we can cut transmission rates by 25 or even 50% more in the next 11 or so days, that creates an even lower risk of individuals, masked or unmasked, from getting infected in schools,” Ghaly said.
In a statement, E. Toby Boyd, president of the California Teachers Association expressed optimism that Covid-19 risks would ease as health officials predict but added “…while some students are ready to immediately remove their masks, others remain very afraid. We urge local school districts to continue to work with educators and families and to act cautiously while prioritizing the safety of students, educators, and their families.”
In a message issued to district families, Los Al USD Supt. Dr. Andrew Pulver reminded people to be kind and respectful of personal choices.
“I encourage each of us to avoid making assumptions regarding someone’s beliefs or health status based upon their choice to wear or not wear a mask,” he wrote.
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