It was announced today by the state health officials that schools in California will soon be able to remove the requirement that students and teachers must mask up in the classroom. The new indoor mask policy for schools goes into effect after 11:59 p.m. on March 11. Students who wish to continue wearing a protective face mask will be able to wear a mask at school if they choose to. Masks will still be required for people in high transmission settings such as public transit, emergency shelters, health care settings, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and long-term care facilities.

Currently, California requires all K-12 students to mask up indoors.  All adults in these settings are also required to mask up when sharing indoor spaces with students. However, many Northern California school districts are already fed up with the rule and have allowed students to go without masks in the classroom, which goes against the state’s public health guidelines. Last week, Roseville City Unified School District and Rocklin Unified School District announced they would not enforce the state’s mask mandate for students. Closer to home the Clovis Unified School District, the mask mandate is already lifted. Prior to the mandate being lifted, students were removed from class if they refused to wear a mask in class. In a board meeting for CUSD, they announced that they are “[ending] contact tracing, notification of exposure, and [requiring] testing in certain situations.” During this board meeting, many people were explaining why and why not the mask mandate should be around.

The end of this mask mandate will take place approximately two years from when it was initiated in 2020. Here’s what a few of our students said about how they feel about the mask mandate being lifted (some students preferred to remain anonymous):

• “I don’t think it would be good because Freed told us that the mortality rate hasn’t gotten better whenever we started wearing masks. So, it’s just going to be the same.” -Denise Alvarez, junior
• “I think the fact that we aren’t going to need to wear masks is going to make me feel scared because I’m insecure.” –Anonymous student
• “I feel anxious because no one has seen me without my mask this year.” -Adriana Carranza, junior
• “I just don’t want COVID to rise again. Definitely before us seniors’ graduation and for it to mess it up.” –Destiny Uranga, senior
• “I’m glad that the masks are going to be gone because I dislike them. It’s uncomfortable having them on.” –Elida Jaimes, senior
• “I don’t think it’s a good idea because people who live with older people might increase the risk for them to get COVID.” –Nellita Montijo, sophomore
• “Me personally, I will still be wearing a mask in school because even though it isn’t required it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. People should still think about each others’ safety.” –Jareli Reynoso Tapia, senior
• “I believe it’s not the smartest thing to do because we’re letting our guards down just because the cases are low. I’m vaccinated and will still continue to wear my mask regardless of the mandate.” -Marlene Andrade, senior
• “It’s not a good idea to be letting people take off their masks yet because it takes 10 to 14 days for COVID  to clear and all schools are letting students back in after 5 days even if they test positive.” -Anonymous student
• “I think it’s okay but I will still wear mine!” –Andrea Orth, senior 
• “I think that it’s going to cause a big rise in COVID cases. I don’t know how to put into words but it’s not a good idea to lift the mask mandate in school.” -Celeste Ramos, 12
• “Really wow! I didn’t know that, but what I think is ‘finally.'” -Lexy Reyes, senior
• “As long as it’s safe, I don’t really mind.” –America Lemus, junior
• “I think that’s cool for those who prefer to go without a mask and don’t mind the pandemic. But personally, I will continue to wear my mask for my famili8es safety.” –Sarah Nuno, senior
• “I personally don’t care, either way. But when it gets hot, it is hard to wear the mask and the mask won’t mess up my makeup.” –Genesis Flores Venegas, senior
• “People think that getting rid of the mask mandate is gonna help is a ridiculous thought. People need to grow up and realize just because you want something doesn’t mean it should happen.” –Anonymous student
• “It doesn’t really matter since a lot of kids here never wear their masks correctly or wear them at all. It’s just kind of a risk since COVID can affect people differently and the risk of spreading COVID would be high.” –Anonymous student