Parents To State Ed Board: End School Mask Mandate

MALDEN, MA — Protesters rallied at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's headquarters in Malden Tuesday to call for an end to the in-school mask mandate.

The state will lift all coronavirus restrictions starting Saturday. The mask mandate will be replaced with federal guidance that fully vaccinated people don't need to wear face coverings indoors or outdoors, with a few exceptions.

This includes schools, where masks will be required for staff and students in K-12 and early education settings.

Ashleigh MacKinnion, the parent of a first-grade student in Marshfield, told WCVB masks are "essentially a 'Scarlet Letter'" for students when the virus "will not severely affect them."

Malden police responded to the protest, which delayed DESE's meeting by about 15 minutes Tuesday, WCVB reported. Demonstrators also asked that vaccinations not be mandatory for students.

Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeff Riley said nearly every public school in the state is offering in-person instruction for students. In-person learning is now an option at all elementary and middle schools, and 99 percent of high schools met Riley's May 17 deadline, the State House News Service reported.

"I know that this was a split vote when the vote was taken in March to grant me the authority, and we'll be voting on a final vote later, but I do think at this time that we made the right decision to move forward," Riley said.

The board is expected to vote to finalize the emergency student learning requirements it adopted in March to promote in-person learning across Massachusetts.