Sacramento-area schools are lifting mask mandates. Here’s when the new rules start
The Sacramento City Unified School District board voted Tuesday to lift its mask mandate for students and staff, but only after Sacramento County is in a low community level of COVID-19 spread for four consecutive weeks.
Sacramento County was still in the medium level on Wednesday, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regularly updates its community levels on Thursdays. The latest figures for Sacramento show that the county is well below the thresholds for new cases and hospitalizations to enter the low community level as early as this week, meaning Sacramento City Unified’s mask mandate could be lifted in early April.
Once the four weeks have passed, “SCUSD will align with the CDPH (California Department of Public Health) guidance to strongly recommend masking, but not require masks to be worn in school settings,” the district announced in a news release. Should Sacramento County return to a “high” community level, mask mandates would return, the district said.
Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Jorge Aguilar said the district “will continue to offer high-filtration masks for those who choose to continue masking, and also stock a large inventory of masks so that we are readily prepared if ever needing to widely distribute masks in the future.”
California health officials announced late last month that school districts could lift mask requirements beginning Saturday. The state said it would still “strongly recommend” the wearing of masks inside school facilities.
Most school districts in the capital region are removing their mask policies to align with the state change.
Suburban districts lifting mandate
Folsom Cordova, Natomas Unified, San Juan Unified, Twin Rivers and Elk Grove Unified schools will each move to strongly recommending mask-wearing beginning Saturday.
Twin Rivers Unified Superintendent Steve Martinez wrote in a letter to families that the last few months “felt a bit like we were navigating a raft in choppy river waters.”
“It seems that we are now in smoother waters, and thus we are able to better anticipate what is coming and how to prepare for it,” Martinez wrote. “Just around the corner, we are no longer required to mask, and I know that this will come as a welcome relief for many, while some will continue to feel that masking is prudent for their personal health.”
In a letter to families on Tuesday, Elk Grove officials wrote its new policy would cover “students and staff, as well as parents/guardians, visitors, and/or spectators.” The district also stressed that students and staff who choose to continue wearing masks can do so and that “no individual should be treated differently or be harassed for choosing to wear or not wear a mask.”
“We want to make sure everyone is comfortable, whether they choose to wear a mask or choose not to,” district spokeswoman Xanthi Soriano said.
Natomas Unified officials also said they would provide masks for students, staff and families who want to wear face coverings at school facilities.
“We ask that everyone be respectful of the individual decisions that staff, students, and our families make regarding masks/face coverings,” the district wrote.
This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 12:02 PM.