The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announced Tuesday that after consulting with medical experts and state health officials, Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley will extend the mask requirement in all K-12 public schools through at least Jan. 15, 2022.
“Masks remain a simple and effective measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep students in school safely,” said Riley. “Together with the Test and Stay program, high vaccination rates, low transmission rates in schools, and all the hard work in keeping our students safe, our kids are able to stay in school where they belong and can flourish.”
School officials will be able to lift the mask requirement if at least 80 percent of all students and staff in a school building are vaccinated, which must be demonstrated through documentation submitted to DESE. Lifting the mask mandate through the vaccination threshold is a local decision made by school and district leaders.
As part of the mask requirement, public-school students ages 5 and older, as well as staff members, are required to wear masks indoors in schools, except when eating, drinking, or during mask breaks. All visitors are also expected to wear a mask in school buildings, regardless of vaccination status, but masks are not required outdoors for students, visitors, or faculty. It is also strongly recommended that students younger than 5 years old wear a mask in school.
Students and staff who cannot wear a mask for medical reasons and students who cannot wear a mask for behavioral reasons are exempted from this requirement.
All districts are required this school year to provide in-person learning to students. Since the start of the year, approximately 920,000 public-school students have been learning in schools with minimal disruptions.
“Massachusetts is a national leader in vaccination rates for adults and eligible children, and in anticipation of the vaccine becoming available in the coming weeks for children ages 5 to 11 years old, this extension of the mask requirement will allow time for the elementary-school population to receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Education Secretary James Peyser. “This will be another big step forward in our efforts to keep school safe for our kids.”
In August, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education gave the commissioner the authority to require masks for all public-school staff and students — ages 5 and older — in all grades through at least Oct. 1. Riley said he would revise the mask requirement as warranted by public-health data.
