How Californians Feel About the End of School Mask Mandates
Washington Elementary School students walked to class in Lynwood in January.Credit…Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press
In March 2020, California became the first state in the nation to issue a stay-at-home order to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Two years later, Covid-19 policies here and elsewhere are being rolled back, a shift that is sowing division among those who once agreed how best to handle the pandemic.
One of the most contentious changes in California has been the lifting of the statewide school mask mandate.
As of late last week, the state no longer requires that students and teachers wear masks inside classrooms, though certain districts, including in Los Angeles and Sacramento, will keep the rules in place for now. Nationwide, 68 percent of major school districts no longer require masks, according to the tracking site Burbio.
Given the fierce debate, we asked readers how they felt about California’s school mask mandate ending. Polling suggests that Californians are pretty split on the issue, and your responses reflected that.
You’ve been writing to me about your hesitations around taking off masks — what one reader described as akin to “not finishing a course of antibiotics.” Or you’ve worried that the change has come far too late, as students’ social development has already suffered irreparably over the past two years.
I heard from hundreds of teachers, parents, students, school counselors and community members with plenty of opinions about school mask mandates. Here are some of their takes, lightly edited for clarity and brevity:
“As a teacher with multiple autoimmune diseases and immunocompromised students in my classes, I am worried for myself and my kids. I can’t understand the level of selfishness and lack of empathy in these decisions.” — Margaret Colburn, Los Angeles
“I am thrilled that the masks are coming off of my young kids. It is well past time! We know how low risk kids are, they deserve the normal childhoods we all enjoyed.” — Melinda Ulu, Santa Cruz
“Cases are down at my son’s middle school, and they haven’t had a positive test among staff or students in a couple weeks. However, I will tell my son to wear a mask until the new rules shake out. If cases start to rise again, I’d rather be ahead of the curve on that.” — Brooke Habecker, Redwood City
“I’m a student in Los Angeles, so I’ve endured some of the most overbearing Covid-19 measures since we went back to school in August. Cases have descended to less than 1,000 a day, and we have a high vaccination rate. If not now, then when?” — Shane Masterson, Los Angeles
“I am a school counselor. I feel uneasy about the mask mandates and how schools (in Santa Clara County) are making it ‘optional, but strongly encouraged.’ It might create further divisions and arguments between students that want to remain masked out of caution and those that prefer to be maskless. It is one more component about which kids and parents will be divided, and such division will now be visible and obvious to everyone.” — Christina Soto, Sunnyvale
“I’m happy that it’s being lifted, but I don’t think everyone will stop and that’s OK! I teach at a middle school, so I know students and colleagues who will continue to mask because of their health or, in students’ case, insecurities about their appearance. I think it’s appropriate for them to make that choice and feel comfortable at school. I, personally, am excited just to see all their weird little faces again (and I’m sure vice versa).” — Ed Chaney, Clovis
“My kids are 8 and 12, healthy and fully vaccinated, so I think they will be OK with or without masks. But on the other hand, we have worked so hard over the past two years to not get Covid; it seems silly to drop our main defense now. I would feel much more comfortable if only vaccinated students could shed their masks. As parents, we have had to make so many impossible choices and changes over the last two years, I am just exhausted.” — Leslie Suen, Truckee
For more:
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The next steps in the Covid-19 pandemic are particularly divisive.
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Former President Barack Obama said on Sunday that he tested positive for the coronavirus.
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The Russian invasion could spur a Covid surge in Ukraine.
If you read one story, make it this
The strange tale of wolves returning to California.
The rest of the news
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High-speed rail: Ballooning costs, political squabbles and legal challenges have left the completion of California’s high-speed rail system at a crossroads.
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Governor’s race: Every high-profile Republican who ran against Gov. Gavin Newsom in the recall race will sit out the election later this year, Politico reports.
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McDonald’s lawsuit: A California tech company that tried to solve the problem of malfunctioning ice cream machines is accusing McDonald’s of libel.
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How liberal is California?: As elections approach, intraparty demands, denunciations and purity tests have exposed rifts between progressives and moderates, our guest essayist wrote.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
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The weight of words: Russell Turner, the men’s basketball coach at U.C. Irvine, kept his job but has rethought his place in a male sports culture that often includes casual discriminatory language.
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Abuse allegations: A top Republican senator wants to delay a vote on the nomination of Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles to become ambassador to India so allegations that the mayor ignored sexual harassment in his office can be investigated, The Associated Press reports.
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Hollister fire: A wildfire near Santa Barbara was 20 percent contained on Sunday, The Associated Press reports.
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
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Restoration: The last Woolworth’s lunch counter in the U.S. is in Bakersfield, and it is being restored, SFGate reports.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
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S.F. school board: Three weeks after a vote to recall members of the San Francisco school board, Mayor London Breed filled the vacated positions with women from diverse backgrounds.
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Off the grid: Some Californians in rural areas and in the suburbs of San Francisco are using only the energy they produce themselves.
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Voter fraud: An acting sheriff for Del Norte County faces felony charges for filing false voter registration and nomination papers, The Associated Press reports.
What we’re eating
Where to eat great Lao food around Los Angeles.
Where we’re traveling
Today’s tip comes from Geraldine Mahood, who recommends Table Mountain in Oroville:
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to [email protected]. We’ll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.
What we’re recommending
Songs that got us through the past two years.
And before you go, some good news
Before the pandemic, Ron King was a high-powered media executive who shuttled between New York and Los Angeles.
Now he runs a donkey sanctuary in Mendocino County.
King wanted to save donkeys, which are increasingly being slaughtered for the sale of their skin. Each one of the 97 donkeys that live on his ranch has been rescued from death.
“My favorite part of my day is my donkey hug,” King told CBS News.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Soumya
P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Great delight (four letters).
Mariel Wamsley and Jonah Candelario contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at [email protected].
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