School Mask Mandates to End Across West Coast as Virus Ebbs

(Bloomberg) -- California, Oregon and Washington will no longer require masks in classrooms after the end of next week, as plunging Covid case rates across the West Coast accelerate efforts to return to something like normal life.

The three states will shift to recommending masks in schools and child-care facilities, rather than mandating them, after March 11, according to a statement Monday. Oregon and Washington will lift mask rules for most other indoor settings at that time as well. California had let its mask requirement for indoor public spaces expire for vaccinated residents earlier this month.

School mask mandates have emerged as one of the most emotionally charged issues of the pandemic's third year, pitting parents who want them ended immediately against others favoring a more cautious approach. The Western states, all led by Democratic governors, join areas including New York and Illinois in lifting their requirements for schools. But the debate won't completely end, as individual school districts in the West will still be able to require masks if they choose.

Indeed, San Francisco's school district said Monday that it will continue to mandate indoor masking even after the state requirement ends. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, said the state would support any district that makes the same choice.

“Those local conditions are really going to guide it,” he said in a briefing with reporters. “That is the decision they're making to keep their community safe.”

Still, Monday's announcement represents a major step toward easing the restrictions that have reshaped almost every aspect of daily life in the three states, which were among the first in the country hit by the pandemic. And in a sign of just how quickly the rules are shifting, Oregon and Washington moved up the lifting of their indoor mask mandates, which officials previously said would be removed on March 19 and March 21, respectively.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, announced this month that his state would shift to a new strategy of dealing with the pandemic as an ongoing risk, rather than an emergency. As of Tuesday, the state also will no longer mandate masks for unvaccinated people in most indoor settings, instead making them “strongly recommended.”

The eased school rules drew a mixed response from California's largest teachers union, which said lifting the mask requirement could prove disruptive.

“Simply put, while some students are ready to immediately remove their masks, others remain very afraid,” E. Toby Boyd, president of the California Teachers Association, said in a press release. “We urge local school districts to continue to work with educators and families and to act cautiously while prioritizing the safety of students, educators, and their families.”

While many requirements for public masking are now being lifted, some remain. In each of the three states, facial coverings must still be worn in health-care facilities and on mass transit, for example.