Update: Masks now optional for Roseville high school students despite California COVID rules

Students in Roseville Joint Unified High School District may now attend in-person class without a mask.

Their school board last week unanimously voted to stop enforcing a statewide order directing students and staff to wear masks in classrooms. That statewide order for schools remains in place, although Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration this week signaled it could end later this month.

In an email, Superintendent John Becker confirmed the district is not requiring students to wear masks.

Becker said his district has not been contacted by the California Department of Public Health or the governor’s office regarding the new local policy.

The Roseville policy states that masking is a “choice for students,” Superintendent Becker said in an email. “We have been legally advised that (the health department) does not require that individuals, such as teachers or school staff, enforce the mandate and therefore, cannot be held liable,” he added.

In an email to The Bee, the state health department said masking has been effective tool in schools to reduce spread of COVID-19. The health department did not directly address Roseville Joint Unified High School District’s new policy.

The union that represents Roseville teachers this week criticized the local policy, saying it puts educators in a difficult position of choosing between the school board’s direction and the statewide order.

Teacher unions generally have asked for masks, COVID-19 testing and ventilation to keep their members safe during the pandemic.

In a news release, the Roseville Secondary Education Association, which is affiliated with the California Teacher’s Association, said teachers are being turned into “the enemy.”

“The resolution in response to COVID protocols passed by the board ... will only intensify this pressure and stress when teachers are forced to choose between violating the state mandate or violating the board’s decision,” the association in said in a statement. “Teachers have now been put in a no-win situation no matter what we try to do.”

California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly on Monday said the state would not immediately end the mask mandate for students. Instead, the administration plans revisit the issue in two weeks, making a decision on Feb. 28.

In the event the state ends the mask mandate, Ghaly said the state would continue to “strongly recommend” masks for students and staff.

“It was so great,” said Dylan Phillips, a freshman at Granite Bay High School. “I mean you could feel the difference in everyone’ energy . . .it was nice to actually to get see what my classmates and my friends looked like in a classroom.”

Phillips said a “good majority” of students in his classes weren’t wearing masks, and the new policy was a popular topic of discussion among his friends.

“I’m just very grateful to our board for letting us to have mask choice,” he said. “It has really created a better environment in my opinion.”

The Roseville policy coincides with the end of the state’s indoor mask mandate, which the Newsom administration lifted on Tuesday.

“Be it further resolved by the Roseville Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees recommends, regardless of vaccination status, personal and parent choice with respect to whether or not children, staff and teachers should wear face coverings while at school commencing when the state indoor mask mandated is lifted,” the resolution said.

This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 1:44 PM.