Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will end mask mandate. Here’s what to know.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board unanimously lifted the district’s mask mandate Tuesday, keeping in line with state and local COVID-19 mask recommendations.
The change will go into effect March 7. Masks will still be required on buses, per federal regulations.
“During almost two years of facing the impact of COVID in our schools and community, we have learned a lot about this virus,” Superintendent Earnest Winston said. “To put it in simple terms, we are going to have to live with COVID. Fortunately, we have more tools in our arsenal to protect ourselves and others.”
CMS has been following state and county COVID-19 rules and related restrictions since the beginning of the school year, when COVID-19 vaccines were unavailable for children younger than 12. Masks were required indoors at all times, regardless of vaccination status.
Winston said he heard from principals, teachers and students on the decision of lifting the mandate, and the reaction to making them optional was “mixed.” Regardless, he recommended moving all of CMS facilities to mask optional.
The board voted down 6-3 board member Rhonda Cheek’s motion to make masks optional effective Feb. 26 before voting unanimously for the March 7 date.
“Individual students, staff and visitors may make their choice on whether or not to wear (masks) indoors,” Winston said.
Mask policies changing
The decision comes on the heels of a trio of major mask changes within the last week.
The Mecklenburg County Board of County Commissioners voted last Wednesday to lift the county’s mask mandate, effective Feb. 26, citing a retreat of the virus and widespread availability and effectiveness of vaccines.
On Thursday, Gov. Roy Cooper encouraged municipalities and school boards to end their mask mandates. There hasn’t been a statewide mask mandate since last summer.
Meanwhile, state legislators approved a bill that would allow parents to decide whether their children wear masks in schools, rather than keep it as a school board decision. Now, school boards vote every month about whether to keep a mask mandate in place.
North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore announced the bill last Tuesday that would “give parents the right to opt out of student mask mandates for their children,” according to a news release.
“Let me be clear: It’s parents, not politicians who should be making these decisions for their children,” Moore said in his news release. “As other states across the country lift mask mandates and restrictions, North Carolina’s children will not be left behind.”
State officials are encouraging schools to switch to mask optional rules beginning March 7.
Preparing for change
Last Friday, CMS district officials emailed families: “Principals and staff are encouraged to prepare for the likelihood that masks soon become optional for students, staff and visitors.”
Many parents voiced to school board members and the Observer that they were ready for the district to switch to mask optional. More boards across the state are dropping mandates and phasing in optional masks.
As of Feb. 18, The News & Observer reported that at least 25 school boards recently had voted to end mask mandates, and for the first time since the pandemic started, a majority of North Carolina school districts don’t require face masks. Wake County’s board voted Tuesday to make masks optional beginning March 7.
Health officials continue to urge people to get vaccinated along with a booster to help curb the spread of the virus.
This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 8:47 PM.
