Manassas Public Schools repealed the last traces of its mask mandate that had been in effect since students returned to classes last summer.
According to school division spokeswoman Al Radford, the division no longer requires teachers, staff, bus drivers, or children riding school buses to wear face masks.
The city school system repealed its mask mandate for students in the classroom last week, ahead of a March 1 deadline imposed by the Virginia General Assembly.
The repeal comes after the CDC on Friday, February 25, revised masking recommendations for public schools. The federal agency no longer recommends masks in jurisdictions where transmission of the virus is low and no longer requires them on school buses.
Following the news, neighboring Prince William County Public Schools also ended its mask mandate for teachers, staff, bus drivers, and children riding school buses. However, children and teachers in the county’s federally-funded Head Start program must continue to cover their faces.
Here’s the full announcement posted to the Manassas City Schools website:
Masks are now optional for all MCPS employees and volunteers working in classrooms. MCPS will adjust these requirements should the community-level change.
Masks are no longer required on buses operated by public school systems and will now be optional for students and adults on MCPS school buses.
Please note that the CDC states that “employees and students can continue to wear a mask based on personal preference, informed by personal level of risk.”
As previously stated, MCPS will continue to implement a multilayered mitigation strategy in response to COVID-19. These strategies include daily health monitoring in schools and reporting to the Prince William Health District, required isolation for anyone who is COVID-19 positive, and notification to families and staff when a COVID-19 case is confirmed in a school or MCPS building.
