A Maryland legislative committee approved a new policy by the State Board of Education that would pave the way for local school districts to make masks optional.
Members of the Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review — which includes both senators and representatives from the statehouse — voted 17-1 Friday to lift the statewide school mask mandate and shift control to schools on masking requirements.
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The decision came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention simultaneously announced new health guidelines that would ease masking for most Americans. The new guidance recommends schools to use universal masking only in communities with high levels of diseases. In areas with low levels of the virus, which include most of the D.C. metro area under the new guidance, masks can be removed indoors, including in schools. The CDC previously recommended schools have universal masking regardless of transmission levels.
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The Maryland State Board of Education lifted its mask requirement at a meeting this week , following a recommendation from State Schools Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury, but needed approval from the state legislative committee before it went into effect. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) pushed the committee to “act swiftly” and approve the state board’s action in a statement Tuesday.
Previously, the state board allowed schools to remove mask mandates if they met one of three public health thresholds: the county had to reach at least an 80 percent vaccination rate, 80 percent of school staff and students had to be vaccinated, or the county had to have 14 days with moderate or low transmission of coronavirus infections.
Choudhury told lawmakers that the conditions have improved in schools, since more students have access to the coronavirus vaccine and testing. Maryland has a lower seven-day average case rate than the United States overall, according to data compiled by The Washington Post. Daily reported cases have gone down 9 percent in the past week. Deaths and hospitalizations were also decreasing, according to the data set.
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Three Maryland school systems have lifted their masking requirements under the previous state board regulations — Anne Arundel, Howard and Frederick counties, Choudhury said Friday. Following the decision by the state legislative committee, more are likely to follow suit.
Maryland State Board of Education President Clarence C. Crawford told legislative committee members that the state board would “continue to expect these boards to exercise their authority in a responsible manner.”
Ahead of the vote, some speakers pushed the committee to remove the mandate entirely for schools and keep the decision out of local school districts’ hands. Other speakers asked the committee to keep the current regulations in place to protect students under the age of 5 who don’t have access to the vaccine and students who may be especially vulnerable to the coronavirus.
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Before approving the state board’s action, Sen. Sarah K. Elfreth (D-Anne Arundel) said she was concerned about the impacts it would have on the youngest students and older educators who are more vulnerable to covid-19.
“In voting yes, I am strongly encouraging our local jurisdictions to continue to be guided by the best public health data, and with the thought that we are still one school community,” Elfreth said. “We need to make sure we are looking out for each other through that lens.”