BOSTON – The statewide school mask mandate to begin the 2021 fall semester is official. The announcement to require masks in all Massachusetts public schools by staff and students came on Wednesday, August 25 by Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley. He was granted the power to make the decision by the state board of education just 24 hours earlier.

Effective immediately, requirements and details of the mandate include:

  • Public school students (age 5 and above) and staff in all grades are required to wear masks indoors, with exceptions for medical and behavioral needs. Masks are not required when outdoors. All visitors are also expected to wear a mask in school buildings.
  • The mask requirement will be in place until at least October 1, 2021. The Commissioner will revisit the requirement in the near future to revise it as warranted by public health data.
  • Masks should cover an individual’s nose and mouth. For more information about appropriate mask use, please see: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/downloads/cloth-face-covering.pdf.
  • While not required, it is strongly recommended that students younger than age 5 also wear a mask in school.
  • Students and staff who cannot wear a mask for medical reasons, and students who cannot wear a mask for behavioral reasons, are exempted from the requirement.
  • The mask requirement applies when students and staff are indoors at school, except when eating, drinking, or during mask breaks.
  • Masks are required for any sports-related activity for student-athletes and coaches when indoors, in alignment with guidance provided by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA).
  • By federal public health order, all students and staff are required to wear a mask on school buses.
  • After October 1, 2021, if a school demonstrates a vaccination rate of 80 percent or more for students and staff in the school, then vaccinated individuals in that school would no longer be subject to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) mask requirement. DESE will provide additional information to districts in the coming weeks in preparation for the October 1 date, including how to demonstrate the 80 percent vaccination rate threshold.