Freehold Township: Face Masks Now Optional For Students, Staff

FREEHOLD, NJ - Amid rising temperatures and relaxed guidance from the state, district officials from the Freehold Township School District have issued their own updated guidance on the masking rules.

"School officials are empowered to relax masking among students and staff in their buildings given extreme weather conditions," Gov. Phil Murphy said at a press conference this week, adding that the provision was one of the exceptions included in the executive order on masking in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

While face masks are now optional per state regulations in stores, restaurants, entertainment venues and more, those in youth summer camps, preschools, elementary and secondary schools are still required to mask up.

"This is for a simple reason: Children under the age of 12 are not yet eligible to be vaccinated," the governor has said.

"For these younger populations, we're just not there yet."

Face masks are also required on public transportation like buses and airplanes and hubs like airports, bus terminals and train stations. Read more: Another Big Reopening Day In NJ: What You Can Do Now Amid COVID

In a June letter to parents, superintendent Neal Dickstein, announced that, effective immediately, students and staff “inhibited” by wearing a face mask can opt not to do so through the end of the school year.

"As we all have experienced, the temperature and humidity outdoors have risen, making it uncomfortable in many of our classrooms and common spaces," Dickstein wrote. "We are fortunate that our classrooms are climate controlled; however, we recognize that intense heat may impact the effectiveness of our systems. These conditions or other factors may have a negative health impact on individuals wearing a face mask."

Parents and students should note that the policy only carries through the end of the school year. The state is already preparing for what the incoming school year will look like, with schools now mandated to provide full-time, in-person instruction in September without remote learning options. As for the issue of mask requirements, the jury is still out.

“Three months from now might as well be five lifetimes in a pandemic,” Murphy has said. “The answer is … our minds are open.”