School Districts Drop Mask Mandates, Against CDC Guidance
Updated, May 21
The ongoing discussion on wearing masks has taken a new turn this week, as some states have not only decided to abandon mask mandates in schools, disregarding the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but have also implemented laws prohibiting mask requirements in educational institutions. Texas, Iowa, and Utah are among the states that have passed legislation pertaining to this matter. In light of these developments, Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, which has 1.7 million members, wrote a letter on May 20 to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. In the letter, Weingarten sought clarification and guidance on ten different points concerning COVID-19 safety protocols in schools for the upcoming academic year.
On May 7, Kent Edwards, the superintendent of Kearney Public Schools in Nebraska, delivered a message to his community that, outside of a pandemic, would have been considered unremarkable. He stated, "We are excited to see our students’ faces again." Approximately one week prior to the CDC announcing that vaccinated individuals could forgo masks in most indoor and outdoor settings, the school district in Nebraska, which has 5,900 students, eliminated its face-covering mandate. Since the CDC update, school districts across the country have followed suit. Governors like Henry McMaster of South Carolina, Spencer Cox of Utah, and Jared Polis of Colorado have announced that mask mandates in their respective states may be relaxed for the final weeks of the academic year. Furthermore, districts such as Cobb Schools in Georgia, Pasco County Schools in Florida, and Fargo Public Schools in North Dakota will be implementing mask-optional policies in the coming days and weeks.
Unfortunately, these recent actions contradict the recommendations of the CDC. According to the CDC, universal masking and physical distancing are still advised in schools, even for fully vaccinated teachers and students. The new guidance has caused confusion not only in schools but also in social settings and retail establishments concerned about the well-being of their employees. Masks have long been the norm in these environments. While approximately 122 million Americans have received full COVID-19 vaccinations, including over 2 million educators, only last week did youth aged 12 to 15 become eligible for vaccines, and it will likely be early next year before younger students are eligible.
Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the CDC, stated on Fox News Sunday that their school guidance for the remainder of the academic year will not change. She also mentioned that the CDC will be working throughout the summer to update its COVID-19 safety recommendations for schools before the fall.
However, some parents believe that next school year is too far away to address their concerns. In early May, protestors gathered outside the Greenville County, South Carolina school district headquarters demanding the removal of masks from their children. One woman carried a poster stating, "Follow the science, masks don’t work." (Research actually shows that face coverings significantly slow the spread of COVID-19.)
Tim Waller, the spokesperson for Greenville County Schools, responded to the protests by saying, "Some families would love to see the masks go away — like today or yesterday. Other families have serious medical concerns. They have people at home with compromised immune systems." Waller also mentioned that the district received approximately 20 written comments from parents advocating for mask mandates to remain in place.
According to Jon Valant, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, the disagreement over mask-wearing in schools is more about political ideology than safety preferences. Throughout the pandemic, Valant has noticed that responses to COVID-19 are often influenced by political leanings. He believes that the same applies to the issue of school mask mandates.
When schools first started reopening last fall, Valant’s research indicated that decisions made by districts about whether or not to welcome students back were not based on the rate of COVID-19 transmission in the community. Instead, these decisions were predicted by the percentage of residents who had voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Valant stated, "You would expect that the places most cautious about returning to in-person school or implementing precautions like mask-wearing would be the areas with the greatest immediate threat of COVID transmission. From what I have seen, that has not been the case."
The debates surrounding the use of masks in schools have created significant divisions within many communities. For example, in New Braunfels, a town in Texas with two separate school districts, conflicting mask policies have caused conflicts among neighbors and led typically apolitical parents to become activists.
Masking policies in Harlan, Iowa have caused division among not only parents, but also students. The recent announcement by the CDC did not lead to a change in protocol for the Harlan Community School District, but some students decided to stop wearing face coverings in school anyway. As a result, the district has started separating these unmasked students from their peers.
Last Thursday, Jameson Bieker, a high school student who is against masks, shared his experience of being stopped in the hallway and being sent to the auditorium for the entire day. Interim superintendent Lynn Johnson clarified that this separation is not a punishment, but rather an accommodation. The goal is to continue educating these students while ensuring that they are kept separate from the classrooms where masks are required.
Bieker’s family is taking legal action against the school district over its mask mandate. Similar tactics have been employed by anti-mask parents in various parts of the country, but the success rate has been low.
While conflicts over masking policies continue to unfold at the local level, it is crucial to remember that combating the pandemic requires a nationwide effort. Moving forward, it is hoped that leaders will rely on the guidance provided by top scientific experts when making decisions regarding COVID-19 safety measures in schools. It is important that both local and state governments base their decisions on the advice received from the federal government. Moreover, it is necessary for the federal government to provide the best possible information to inform these decisions.
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