California won’t lift its mask mandate for schools just yet despite drop in COVID cases
Millions of Californians will remove their masks this week when the state’s universal mandate ends on Wednesday. Teachers and students, however, will not be among them.
California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said the state will wait another two weeks to decide whether to change its rules on masking in schools. The extra time will allow communities to discuss the change and prepare with added protections, if they wish, he said.
The state’s COVID-19 cases have dropped by nearly 75% since mid-January, per state data. On Feb. 28, state officials will reassess and decide if they want to move from requiring masks to strongly recommending them in schools.
“In two weeks, confirming that the data continues to be where it is, taking the time to prepare and work with the school communities and communities at large, that we anticipate making the change at that point,” Ghaly said.
Ghaly noted that California’s priority is to keep schools open. While California is home to 12 percent of the country’s public school students, it has experienced 1% of school closures, he said.
He emphasized that masks were never intended to be in place in perpetuity.
“It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when,” he said. “We don’t make hasty decisions. We will take the collection of information together to make a decision that is good for California.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Ghaly have been criticized since last summer when the state said it would require masking for all students and teachers heading into the 2021-2022 school year. At the time, California’s policy went beyond recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, which said masks should be required for young students, but that older vaccinated children and teachers didn’t have to wear one.
Shortly following that announcement, however, the a surge in cases caused by the delta variant prompted the the CDC to reverse its guidance, instead recommending everyone in K-12 schools wear masks indoors, including teachers, students, and visitors, regardless of vaccination.
The latest CDC advice, updated Jan. 13, recommends universal indoor masking by all students (ages 2 years and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.
Parents across the state have fought against California’s decision to mandate masks in schools, arguing students shouldn’t be required to wear them if adults can remove them in places like bars and restaurants.
Recently, Newsom was slammed for appearing maskless at an NFL game in Los Angeles. The governor said he only removed the mask for the photo but wore it the rest of the time.
When asked if teachers unions played a role in the state’s decision to keep masks in schools, Ghaly said it is “based on the information and the data.”
“Of course conversations with all interested parties, whether those are groups from teachers and staff, or public health leaders that are listening to voices throughout their communities, those are part of that decision as well,” Ghaly said. “But it’s really based on the situation we’ve had with schools since the beginning.”
A spokesperson for the Republican National Committee slammed California leaders for keeping the school mask mandate in place.
“The decision to force students and teachers to continue wearing masks at school is not only out-of-line with science, but is hypocritical and dangerous for the education of California’s children,” said RNC spokesperson Hallie Balch in a statement. “For two years, children have been forced to forgo a natural learning environment and have had their personal growth stymied because of out-of-touch mandates. With hundreds of pictures of celebrities and lawmakers ignoring the rules at sporting events, every Californian should be enraged that Democrats change the rules for their friends yet force children to continue to suffer.”
One district has stopped listening to the state. Roseville Joint Union High School last week voted to make masks optional, regardless of vaccination status, starting Feb. 15. Ghaly on Monday noted that state mask requirements still apply to all school districts.
California officials are also working on increasing vaccination rates in youth.
Last year, Newsom announced all students will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to attend classes in person. Vaccination is required for students at the start of the semester following full authorization of the vaccine for their age group. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use in kids as young as 5.
California officials expect the vaccine requirement to apply to grades 7-12 starting July 1.
The governor’s mandate allows for personal belief exemptions, but some lawmakers are looking to end that practice. State Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, recently introduced Senate Bill 871, which would end personal belief exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines in schools.
According to state data, a majority of children 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated, 64.7%. Just over a quarter of children 5 to 11, 27.8%, are fully vaccinated in California.
Ghaly on Monday said it’s important that the state is prepared to adopt as the virus continues to evolve.
“It’s really important that we not just talk about endemic phase, but how do we continue to live with a virus that changes and throws curve balls at different times,” he said. “I don’t think anyone can really predict.”
This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 1:48 PM with the headline "California won’t lift its mask mandate for schools just yet despite drop in COVID cases."