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Updated 2/9/2022 at 9:12 p.m. A broken link to the video of the announcement has been replaced. Also, an evening email from Westwood Public Schools Superintendent Emily Parks to student families is described.
Today, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey Riley announced that the statewide mask requirement in schools is going to be lifted, effective February 28, 2022.
Currently, school districts with school buildings that have vaccination rates of at least 80 percent among staff and students can apply to DESE for a waiver of the mask requirement. Waivers will no longer be necessary, however, and vaccination rates will not be a factor in whether school communities can unmask.
The commissioner noted that pandemic has caused a strain on children's mental health, emotional well being, and has impacted their academic success. He cites the lifting of the mask requirement as a move toward relief and normalcy.
Commissioner Riley requested that school leaders respect the individual decisions of the community, and allow individuals to choose to mask or unmask, however they feel comfortable.
See video of the Commissioner's announcement here (starts at 6:19).
In an email sent early this evening to Westwood Public Schools families, Superintendent Emily Parks noted an update to the discussion that School Committee will plan to have at its Thursday, February 10, 2022 meeting. "Since the state’s school mask mandate is expiring, it is no longer relevant for the Westwood School Committee to consider the exemption for schools with an 80% or higher vaccination rate. The discussion and vote by the School Committee tomorrow night will center around rescinding the District’s mask policy and making masks optional in all school buildings, in alignment with the guidance from state public health officials."
Ms. Parks also noted that over two hundred people have already provided written comment to the School Committee on the mask policy via a form that the superintendent distributed to WPS families last week. That form will remain open for comments until noon tomorrow.
