East Brunswick School District Loosens Indoor Mask Mandate

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — As temperatures and humidity soar across New Jersey, the East Brunswick School District will be loosening its indoor mask mandate beginning Friday.

Students and staff who occupy non-air-conditioned spaces with high heat and humidity will now have the option to remove their masks, said Superintendent Victor Valeski.

“Beginning tomorrow, Friday, June 11 through next Friday, June 18, I will be implementing an indoor high heat and high humidity protocol,” Valeski said in a message to the school community.

“Students and staff who occupy un-air-conditioned, high heat and high humidity indoor spaces during the instructional day will have the option to remove their masks while in that space.”

Valeski said that under the Governor’s Executive Order 175, unmasking will be permitted if:

• A mask inhibits the individual’s health,
• The individual has trouble breathing or
• The mask creates an unsafe condition in which to operate equipment or execute a task

However, masks will be required while occupying indoor air-conditioned school spaces, said Valeski.

Earlier this week, the school district announced it was making masks wearing "optional" in some outdoor activities.

Read More Here: Masks Optional For Outdoor Activities In East Brunswick Schools

Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday said that masks are optional for school districts in extreme heat, or in classrooms and school buildings that have no air conditioning.

"As a reminder to all school officials, our current masking requirements do include exceptions for cases of extreme heat in outdoor settings and for situations indoors or outdoors where wearing a mask would inhibit the individual's health," Murphy said.

"School officials are empowered to relax masking among students and staff in their buildings given extreme weather conditions, and we hope they will make the right calls for their educational communities."

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