BOSTON – Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley was granted authority to issue a statewide mask mandate in Massachusetts schools.

 On Tuesday, August 24, by a 9-1 vote, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education granted Riley the power to issue a statewide mask mandate in public schools for the Fall 2021 school year. The vote comes after Riley requested to be granted such authority in order to address a growing number of positive COVID cases relating to the highly transmissible Delta variant, as well as the fact that children under 12 are not eligible for vaccination.

With the newly granted authority, Riley is expected to announce a uniform statewide mask mandate for students and staff in Massachusetts public schools for the start of the Fall 2021 school year. “I want to be clear that we are hopeful that this is a short-term measure and we continue to work with the health and medical community on the off-ramps for masking,” Riley told the board. 

As provided by Riley’s public recommendations  on August 20, the anticipated mask mandate will require all students, teachers and staff in grades K-12 to wear masks indoors until October 1. This includes all children ages five and older, with exceptions for students unable to wear a mask for medical or behavioral reasons.

After October 1, the Commissioner’s policy will allow middle and high schools to lift the mask mandate for vaccinated students and staff only if the school meets a certain vaccination rate – at least 80 percent of students and staff in a school building are vaccinated. Unvaccinated students and staff would still be required to wear masks. The Commissioner intends to revisit the mandate to revise it as warranted by public health data.

Riley said this mandate is the best way to get students back to safe in-person learning at school. “We know that the return to full-time instruction is crucial,” he said. “And after the challenges of last year it will be incredibly important for this year to get off on a strong start.”

James Peyser, the State’s Secretary of Education, said the proposal ensures “a smooth opening of schools without any confusion or ambiguity about the health protocols that everyone is expected to follow, especially when it’s a time where there’s growing concern and uncertainty about the Delta variant.”

Prior to this vote, several Central Massachusetts school districts have already decided to require masks in their schools for the start of school. 

The following Central Mass school districts already requiring masks are as follows:

  • Auburn
  • Blackstone-Millville Regional
  • Fitchburg
  • Gardner
  • Grafton
  • Harvard
  • Leominster
  • Lunenburg
  • Millbury
  • Southbridge
  • Webster
  • Westborough (Pre-K-6th Grade)
  • West Boylston 
  • Worcester