Middletown Students Can Now Take Their Masks Off Inside School

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The Middletown school district just announced it is joining the ranks of Woodbridge, Toms River and Brick in relaxing the indoor mask mandate due to the hot weather.

If a student — or teacher — feels too hot or feels they cannot breathe indoors in the mask, they are free to take it off, no questions asked, announced Middletown schools superintendent Mary Ellen Walker.

This policy will be in effect for the remainder of the school year. The last day for Middletown schools is June 21. Masks will also be optional for ESY programs and summer school programs.

"Effective immediately, any student or staff member whose health is inhibited by wearing a face mask, may choose not to wear a mask during the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year, in alignment with NJDOH guidelines," said Walker in this letter sent out at midday Tuesday.

Middletown schools already dropped the outdoor mask requirement on May 24, and stopped taking students' temperatures at the door.

"As we all have experienced, the temperature and humidity outdoors have risen, making it uncomfortable in many of our classrooms and common spaces. We are fortunate that our classrooms are climate controlled; however, we recognize that intense heat may impact the effectiveness of our systems," Walker wrote Tuesday. "These conditions or other factors may have a negative health impact on individuals wearing a face mask. Staff members and students who choose to continue to wear face masks are encouraged to do so."

School districts across the state are using the hot weather as a chance to drop the indoor school mask mandate, especially after Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday that masks are optional for school districts in extreme heat, or in classrooms/school buildings that may not be air conditioned.

Murphy's announcement empowered NJ school districts to enforce the mask mandate as they see fit.

Middletown, Toms River and Brick go the furthest, making masks optional for the rest of the school.

Other districts are being much more tentative: Woodbridge students can only take the masks off in classrooms that are not air conditioned. Point Pleasant boro school will take it on a day-by-day basis, depending on how hot it is outside that day.

Here is Murphy's announcement Monday:

"It is hot today, and above average temperatures and humid conditions are forecast for at least the next couple of days. 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. 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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