Face Covering Requirements End, But Some US Parents Are Worried
2022-03-16
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1Major school districts around the United States are permitting students to attend class without face coverings for the first time in nearly two years.
2The rules relating to face coverings, or masks, have caused fights among educators, school boards and parents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
3New York City is the largest school district in the country.
4It ended its mask requirement on March 7. Philadelphia lifted its school mask requirement on March 9.
5It joined other big cities such as Houston and Dallas that made similar moves in the past week.
6Chicago schools ended their mask requirement Monday.
7Parents, teachers and school leaders all must balance the new rules.
8Some families are happy that their children no longer have to wear masks.
9But others say they are still worried and are urging their children to continue wearing face coverings for now.
10Educators are caught in the middle.
11In Anchorage, Alaska, top school official Deena Bishop says lifting the mandate in the city's nearly 100 public schools was a welcome change.
12She said there were months of arguments over masks.
13"So I'm glad that we've taken that fight away...and now we can go back to focus on learning," Bishop said.
14Falling COVID-19 infection rates and new federal health recommendations are leading states to drop the requirements.
15The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued new guidelines saying most healthy Americans, including students, can safely stop wearing masks.
16But those who disagree about ending school mask requirements often point to low vaccination rates among American children.
17Only about 25 percent of children ages 5 to 11 have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
18Just 58 percent of children ages 12 to 17 are vaccinated, the CDC says.
19New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois and Delaware recently lifted their statewide school mask requirements.
20New Jersey and Rhode Island officially dropped theirs last Monday.
21California, Oregon and Washington all dropped their statewide mandates on March 12.
22In many places, the decisions are being made at the local school district level.
23Officials in many large cities, such as Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., have said they will keep mask rules for now.
24Officials say that could change if vaccination rates rise among their students or if they can reach agreements with teachers unions.
25Unions have been strong supporters of keeping the mask requirements in place.
26Chicago schools announced last week that masks will no longer be required starting March 14.
27The city's teachers union then promised to take officials to court.
28They said the move will break an agreement with the district to keep the mask rule through the end of the school year.
29In New York City, elementary school student Jack Jalaly stopped wearing his mask when they became optional.
30For children, "it's really great because you can see the way words are pronounced and you can see spellings," said Jack's mother, Andrea.
31But third-grad student Derrick Carter-Jacob kept his mask on even after New York removed the requirement.
32"Leave it on. There's no reason for him to take it off until basically everybody is safe," said his parent, Michael Jacob.
33John Bracey is a Latin teacher at Belmont High School near Boston, Massachusetts.
34He said he will keep wearing his mask through the end of the academic year, even if district officials decide to end the mandate.
35"I have major concerns on so many levels," Bracey said.
36"I just can't find a public health or moral justification for removing them."
37Melissa Bello is a parent in Needham, Massachusetts, outside Boston.
38She said her two children were among those who happily removed their masks last week.
39She said her 8-year-old son has hearing loss and has had trouble understanding what people are saying when they wear masks.
40"He's working harder every day in school and coming home more tired," Bello said.
41"There's not enough consideration for those kinds of tradeoffs in these mask mandates."
42I'm Dan Novak.
1Major school districts around the United States are permitting students to attend class without face coverings for the first time in nearly two years. The rules relating to face coverings, or masks, have caused fights among educators, school boards and parents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 2New York City is the largest school district in the country. It ended its mask requirement on March 7. Philadelphia lifted its school mask requirement on March 9. It joined other big cities such as Houston and Dallas that made similar moves in the past week. Chicago schools ended their mask requirement Monday. 3Parents, teachers and school leaders all must balance the new rules. Some families are happy that their children no longer have to wear masks. But others say they are still worried and are urging their children to continue wearing face coverings for now. 4Educators are caught in the middle. 5In Anchorage, Alaska, top school official Deena Bishop says lifting the mandate in the city's nearly 100 public schools was a welcome change. She said there were months of arguments over masks. 6"So I'm glad that we've taken that fight away...and now we can go back to focus on learning," Bishop said. 7Falling COVID-19 infection rates and new federal health recommendations are leading states to drop the requirements. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued new guidelines saying most healthy Americans, including students, can safely stop wearing masks. 8But those who disagree about ending school mask requirements often point to low vaccination rates among American children. Only about 25 percent of children ages 5 to 11 have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Just 58 percent of children ages 12 to 17 are vaccinated, the CDC says. 9New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois and Delaware recently lifted their statewide school mask requirements. New Jersey and Rhode Island officially dropped theirs last Monday. California, Oregon and Washington all dropped their statewide mandates on March 12. 10In many places, the decisions are being made at the local school district level. 11Officials in many large cities, such as Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., have said they will keep mask rules for now. Officials say that could change if vaccination rates rise among their students or if they can reach agreements with teachers unions. Unions have been strong supporters of keeping the mask requirements in place. 12Chicago schools announced last week that masks will no longer be required starting March 14. The city's teachers union then promised to take officials to court. They said the move will break an agreement with the district to keep the mask rule through the end of the school year. 13In New York City, elementary school student Jack Jalaly stopped wearing his mask when they became optional. For children, "it's really great because you can see the way words are pronounced and you can see spellings," said Jack's mother, Andrea. 14But third-grad student Derrick Carter-Jacob kept his mask on even after New York removed the requirement. 15"Leave it on. There's no reason for him to take it off until basically everybody is safe," said his parent, Michael Jacob. 16John Bracey is a Latin teacher at Belmont High School near Boston, Massachusetts. He said he will keep wearing his mask through the end of the academic year, even if district officials decide to end the mandate. 17"I have major concerns on so many levels," Bracey said. "I just can't find a public health or moral justification for removing them." 18Melissa Bello is a parent in Needham, Massachusetts, outside Boston. She said her two children were among those who happily removed their masks last week. 19She said her 8-year-old son has hearing loss and has had trouble understanding what people are saying when they wear masks. 20"He's working harder every day in school and coming home more tired," Bello said. "There's not enough consideration for those kinds of tradeoffs in these mask mandates." 21I'm Dan Novak. 22Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning from reporting by The Associated Press. 23____________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25district - n. an area established by a government for official government business 26focus - v. to direct your attention or effort at something specific 27mandate - n. an official order to do something 28optional - adj. available as a choice but not required 29justification - n. an acceptable reason for doing something 30consideration - n. the act of thinking carefully about something you will make a decision about