Which States Banned Mask Mandates in Schools, and Which Required Masks?

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This page is no longer being updated. The last data update was on May 23, 2022.

Over the course of the 2021-22 school year states adopted a range of policies around mask wearing in K-12 schools.

According to 91制片厂视频 Week, 18 states and the District of Columbia required masks to be worn in schools at some point during the 2021-22 school year. By the end of May, all but one of those states 鈥� Hawaii 鈥� had dropped their requirement.

Meanwhile, 11 states had at some point during the school year banned school districts from setting universal mask mandates.

One state, Virginia, shifted over the course of the school year from requiring the wearing of masks to banning mask mandates.

The remaining 22 states did not issue state-level mandates, which allowed districts to set their own mask policies.

It鈥檚 worth noting:

At the start of the school year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended universal indoor masking in schools. In February, the agency relaxed that recommendation.
Some state-wide mask policies included exemptions for certain districts, schools, groups, or individuals.
States that banned school districts from enacting universal mask mandates had policies that varied. Some forbade districts from setting mask mandates. Others required districts that had them to allow students or their parents to opt out for any reason, effectively preventing a universal requirement.
State-wide mask policies shifted throughout the school year as state officials changed course or courts ruled to block or halt them.
Additionally, in some states, policies were unclear or outright defied by individual districts.

This information is no longer being updated. The last data update was on May 23, 2022.

MASK MANDATE BAN IN EFFECT

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1. Florida

On Sept. 22, Florida's surgeon general over masking in schools. On Nov. 5, a judge in a legal challenge to rule. On Nov. 18, Gov. DeSantis signed a bill that that require masks.

2. Georgia

On March 29, Gov. Kemp signed the which allows parents to exempt their child from a school mask requirement. The law went into effect immediately.

3. Iowa

On Sept. 13, 2021, a federal judge ordered Iowa to halt enforcement of its law banning mask mandates in schools. On Jan. 25, 2022, a federal appeals panel narrowed that injunction. Iowa鈥檚 attorney generalwhile awaiting further action from the court. On May 16, 2022 a U.S. Court of Appeals .

4. Oklahoma

On Sept. 1, an Oklahoma judge , but students or their parents can still opt out of school mask mandates if they choose.

5. Utah

In Utah, local health departments with approval from the state or county government, according to the state鈥檚 top education official.

6. Virginia

On Jan. 15, Gov. Youngkin It effectively rescinded the state's school mask requirement that had been in place since August. That executive order On Feb. 14, the Virginia legislature That bill was on Feb. 16 and went into effect on March 1.

MASK MANDATE BAN BLOCKED, SUSPENDED, OR NOT BEING ENFORCED

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1. Arizona

On Sept. 27, a that were set to take effect on Sept. 29. On Nov. 2, . On April 25, Gov. Ducey signed , which prevents schools from requiring a student to wear a mask without first getting parental consent. The ban, which replaces the one blocked by the courts, will go into effect 90 days after the legislature adjourns.

2. Arkansas

An , that a law signed by the governor in April that prohibited local officials, including school boards, from setting mask mandates was unconstitutional. School districts have been able to set their own mask requirements since August when the judge put the law on hold.

3. South Carolina

On Sept. 28, South Carolina from enforcing the rule that banned school districts from requiring masks for students.

4. Tennessee

On Dec. 10, 2021, a federal judge An appeals court on May 10, 2022.

5. Texas

On March 17, an appeals court upheld an injunction that , finding it is unlawful and exceeding the governor's authority. This is not the first time the state's ban has been .

MASK REQUIREMENT IN EFFECT

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1. Hawaii

Although Hawaii's state-wide indoor mask mandate indoor masking will still be required in public schools

PREVIOUSLY HAD MASK REQUIREMENT

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1. California

On Feb. 28, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington that mask requirements would end in their states effective March 12.

2. Connecticut

On Feb. 7, Gov. Lamont announced that the school mask rule would expire Feb. 28. Heon Feb. 15 that made the expiration date official.

3. Delaware

On Feb. 7, Gov. Carney amended his emergency order to allow his state-level school mask requirement to expire March 31. that masks would no longer be required effective at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1.

4. District of Columbia

On March 8, the department of health that recommend universal masking only when community COVID-19 levels are high.

5. Illinois

On Feb. 5, a judge issued a聽聽on the governor's statewide mask requirement. On Feb. 25, the state supreme court vacated that order. On the same day, the governor the requirement on Feb. 28.

6. Kentucky

Kentucky's school mask mandate , when the state legislature voted to limit the governor鈥檚 emergency powers.

7. Louisiana

According to a which was students were required to wear masks in schools, but districts could opt out of the mandate if they adopted an isolation and quarantine policy consistent with the state's department of health protocols. On Feb. 16, Gov. Bel Edwards without requiring masking in schools.

8. Maryland

On Jan. 5, but allowed school districts to opt out if certain vaccination rates were met. On Feb. 22, the state board of education . On Feb. 25, a state legislative committee effective March 1.

9. Massachusetts

On Sept. 27, the state began allowing from the face covering rules for vaccinated individuals if certain vaccination rates were met. On Feb. 9, officials announced

10. Nevada

On Feb. 10, the immediate suspension of the school mask requirement. The previous mask requirement had only

11. New Jersey

On Feb. 7, Gov. Murphy to end his state鈥檚 school-mask requirement on March 7.

12. New Mexico

On Feb. 17, the end of the mask requirement, effective immediately.

13. New York

On Jan. 24, A day later, an appeals judge On Feb. 27, Gov. Hochul on March 2.

14. Oregon

On Feb. 7, health officials said the state would drop its school mask requirement no later than March 31. On Feb. 24, the Oregon Health Authority . However, on Feb. 28, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington that mask requirements would end in their states effective March 12.

15. Pennsylvania

A statewide mask mandate for Pennsylvania schoolchildren on December 10.

16. Rhode Island

On Feb. 9, Gov McKee announced the school mask mandate would On Feb. 15, he signed an specifying that the order would take effect at 5 p.m. on March 4.

17. Virginia

On Jan. 15, Gov. Youngkin It effectively rescinded the state's school mask requirement that had been in place since August. That executive order On Feb. 14, the Virginia legislature That bill was on Feb. 16 and went into effect on March 1.

18. Washington

On Feb. 17, the state's school mask requirement will end effective March 21. However, on Feb. 28, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington that mask requirements would end in their states effective March 12.
NOTES
In January 2022, the Missouri attorney general, Eric Schmitt, some school districts that required masks, citing a by a county judge that said local health orders tied to COVID-19 were illegal. (The ruling was interpreted differently by different districts.) The state鈥檚 treasurer on schools with mask mandates. In mid-March, Schmitt against school districts that no longer required masks. On May 19, 2022 Schmitt against several districts that had reinstated mask requirements.
On Feb. 23, 2022, New Hampshire鈥檚 governor announced the state was no longer recommending universal indoor masking and therefore schools have to end mask mandates, arguing they violate state education department rules. Soon after, the department advised districts that the mandates 鈥渁re inconsistent with鈥� their rules. There鈥檚 , but in response. A was vetoed by Gov. Sununu in May 2022.
Updated 5/23/2022 | Sources: Local media reports, 91制片厂视频 Week reporting | Learn more here

View a collection of 91制片厂视频 Week鈥檚 coverage of masks in schools.

Stacey Decker

Deputy Managing Editor for Digital, 91制片厂视频 Week

Stacey Decker was the deputy managing editor for digital at 91制片厂视频 Week.

Evie Blad, Senior Staff Writer; Hyon-Young Kim, Senior Digital News Specialist; Holly Peele, Library Director; and Lesly Moore, Digital News Specialist contributed to this article.