The Los Angeles Unified School District will lift its indoor mask requirement for both students and staff next week after an agreement was reached with labor groups, officials announced Friday.
The lifting of the mandate now aligns with guidance from the State of California and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and district officials will still strongly recommended masking at all elementary, secondary and adult school campuses and in all non-school locations.
The union ratification processes have begun and the new policy will be implemented “no later than Wednesday,” officials said in the announcement.
“I strongly support ending the indoor mask requirement and am committed to continuing to uphold our science-based approach to COVID-19 safety and protocols,” Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said in a statement Friday. “I want to personally thank our students, employees and families for their support and patience. We know some in our school communities and offices will continue to wear masks, while others may not. Please consider your situation and do what is best for you or your child. Now that this important issue is behind us, it is time to focus on each student’s full academic potential.”
LAUSD had previously eased its mandate for outdoor areas, but still required masking indoors even as L.A. County stopped mandating facial coverings indoors, and the state had eased masking at schools.
Carvalho had previously indicated he was ready to lift the mandate, and the district was working with the teachers’ union to reach an agreement on the matter.
But the issue came to a head earlier this week, when a group of demonstrators protested outside the headquarters of United Teachers Los Angeles demanding that the mandate be lifted indoors.
A “corrupt, vicious, anti-child campaign,” is how parent Mehrsima Moussavian described the mask mandate prior to the rally on Wilshire Boulevard.
Under the agreement, LAUSD should still make an effort to conduct weekly testing of all students and employees through the end of the academic school year, as well as provide take-home rapid tests kits for staff and students for baseline testing before the beginning of spring break.
Additionally, LAUSD officials must provide KN95 or N95 masks to any employee who requests them.