State eases mask rules for middle, high schools
Jul. 27—The state Public Education Department will not require masks this fall for middle and high school students, teachers, staffers and others if they show proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
But masks will be required for everyone in elementary schools, regardless of vaccination status, according to the new PED guidelines unveiled Monday.
The mask requirement will apply to all elementary school students, teachers, staffers and visitors, the PED said.
The new guidelines are a departure from the department's previous requirements. Under guidelines issued in April, face coverings were required for anyone in schools at any level, school-sponsored events and school transportation.
The decision to ease the universal mask mandate at secondary schools was made in collaboration with the state Department of Health and the governor's medical advisory team, the agency said in a news release.
It also incorporates the latest guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Our priority is to keep children in school, and it's great news that the CDC guidance shows that secondary students and staff who are vaccinated can safely attend school without masks," PED Secretary Ryan Stewart said in the release.
The CDC recommends that everyone ages 12 and older get a COVID-19 vaccination.
The agency also recommends that children ages 2 to 12 wear a mask in public and when they are around people they don't live with.
"Until vaccinations are available to children of every age, it will be incumbent on each of us, in school environments, to do everything we can to minimize risk — that includes face coverings," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
The guidelines also allow middle and high school administrators to adopt universal mask use if local conditions require.
For example, if community transmission of COVID-19 is increasing, if community vaccination rates are low, or if a school lacks the ability to monitor the vaccination status of students and staff, administrators have leeway to require universal masking, the guidelines say.
Monica Armenta, spokeswoman for Albuquerque Public Schools, said APS is reviewing the new guidelines and will discuss them at board meeting Wednesday.
Requiring everyone, including vaccinated adults, to wear masks in elementary schools offers good role-modeling behavior for children, said Judy Robinson, PED's deputy communications director.
"It is at least partly to have the adults who have roles in the school setting" set a good example for young children by wearing masks, she said.
The new guidelines take effect immediately and apply to school reentry this fall.
For people required to wear masks, the coverings must be worn all day while inside school buildings, at indoor school-sponsored events and on school transportation, the guidelines say.
PED also recommends, but will not require, that unvaccinated students and staffers wear masks while outdoors.
The updated guidelines do not require anyone to get a COVID-19 vaccination or to reveal vaccination status, PED said. But people will be required to wear masks if they don't show proof they are fully vaccinated, it said.
People who wish to go maskless at middle and high schools must provide either an original or a copy of a vaccination card, or a printout or screenshot from NMVaxView showing a completed course of COVID-19 vaccination at least 14 days before the current date.
