Thursday, March 28

Bay Area school districts make mask plans to align with state


SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – Schoolchildren across the state will no longer be required to wear masks inside the classroom after March 11.

Governor Gavin Newsom made the announcement Monday and is now leaving the decision up to counties and their school districts.

Several Bay Area school districts have already made plans to align with the state.

Contra Costa County said it would also end its indoor mask mandate in K-12 schools and childcare settings mid-March, a decision the Mt. Diablo Unified School District is also on board with.

“It would be my recommendation. I’ve always stood by our position in the district that we would follow the mandates, that we would follow the rules, follow the laws and if the mandate goes away from requiring students to wear masks then were going to give students that option,” Superintendent Dr. Adam Clark said. 

Superintendent Dr. Adam Clark says this ultimately leaves the choice up to students and families.

“Parents have a choice in this. Students have a choice and we’re going to make sure we can accommodate both ends wherever a family may lie on this controversial topic,” Dr. Clark said. 

As of Feb. 18, Mt. Diablo Unified had 171 active COVID cases throughout the entire district.

Dr. Clark says the low transmission rate and high vaccination rate allow for this change in mask guidance.

“All families who wanted to have their children vaccinated had that opportunity and so I think that that kind of makes this decision that much less controversial than it would’ve been made maybe a year ago when vaccine availability for students,” Dr. Clark said. 

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At the school boards meeting on March 9, Dr. Clark says he will again propose face masks to be optional for students, however, he says he’s not recommending a change to mask requirements for adults until the state releases additional guidance for school employees.

Meanwhile, West Contra Costa Unified responded to our requests on Monday but had no comment regarding their future masking plans.

In addition, Newsom announced that unvaccinated people will no longer have to wear a mask starting Tuesday, Mar. 1.

Masks will still be required for all people in high transmission areas such as:

  • Public transportation
  • Emergency shelters
  • Health care settings
  • Correctional facilities
  • Homeless shelters
  • Long-term care facilities

Below is a list of school districts that have released statements on what the next move is:

Alameda Office of Education

The Office of Education posted this statement to Twitter:

“The State’s announcement Monday to end the requirement of masking in schools across California signals a new phase for public education as we move into the third year of co-existing with COVID-19 in our communities. We await Alameda County Public Health Department’s assessment of the updated guidance and how it will be applied locally. We will stay in close contact with our districts and schools while the ACPHD completes its review process.
In the meantime, we want our school communities and families to persist in their efforts to safeguard students and staff and take actions that minimize the risk of transmission to all, including vaccination of all those eligible, staying home when ill, utilizing testing where appropriate and reducing opportunities for exposure.”

Berkeley Unified School District

Berkeley announced that they will announce new K-12 guidance in the coming days but at this time, students and staff must continue to be masked indoors at any BUSD school and facility.

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Outdoor masking is now optional for students and staff.

Fremont Unified School District

The Alameda County Public Health Department released a statement saying that they will provide an update to the mask mandates by the end of the week.

They want to evaluate the changes while continuing “to protect the public’s health in Alameda County broadly and in the communities most impacted by the pandemic.”

FUSD will wait for the health department’s response before making a decision.

Oakland Unified School District

OUSD announced that they will continue to require masks in schools until Alameda County makes its announcement on what the county will do moving forward.

USD will determine whether to keep, modify, or remove its mask mandate after reviewing the county guidance, as well as other applicable regulations such as those from CalOSHA. Until then, please keep wearing masks at OUSD schools and facilities and stay tuned for further announcements!

San Francisco

The San Francisco Department of Public Health announced that the city will align with the state to remove the requirement for children to wear masks in TK-12.

“SFDPH strongly recommends that all individuals in schools and childcare continue to wear masks for the time being to keep an added layer of protection and minimize disruptions to in-person learning.”



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