Masks

Education news, analysis, and opinion about research and policy on students and staff wearing face masks in school to combat the spread of the coronavirus
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Kindergarten teacher Karen Drolet, left, works with a student at Raices Dual Language Academy, a public school in Central Falls, R.I., on Feb. 9, 2022.
Kindergarten teacher Karen Drolet, left, works with a student at Raices Dual Language Academy, in Central Falls, R.I., on Feb. 9, 2022. Mask-wearing among educators has fallen since the pandemic's beginning, but patterns differ based on the communities they teach in.
David Goldman/AP
Teaching Profession From Our Research Center Flu and COVID-19 Are Surging. Here’s How Educators Feel About Masking Now
Respiratory illnesses are on the rise. Only 3 percent of educators say they regularly wear a mask at school.
Madeline Will, January 8, 2024
4 min read
Students wearing masks leave the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+m) school in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.
Students wearing masks left the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+m) school in Manhattan, New York in December 2021. Some districts have temporarily brought back precautions like masking and testing following the winter break.
Brittainy Newman/AP
Student Well-Being With a New COVID Variant Rising, Some Schools Revert to Former Safety Measures
COVID-19 precautions like testing and masking are back on the table for districts trying to head off a surge in absences.
Evie Blad, January 10, 2023
4 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Policy & Politics Opinion How the Pandemic Changed Coverage of K-12
Popular topics over the past three years were nowhere to be seen before then.
Rick Hess, January 10, 2023
3 min read
Image of a student holding a mask and a backpack near the entrance of a classroom.
E+
Student Well-Being What's In, What's Out for Student and Educator Wellness
What 2023 will have in store when it comes to taking care of the physical and social and emotional needs of students and educators.
Alyson Klein & Arianna Prothero, January 4, 2023
1 min read
Photo of child holding mask.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
School & District Management As Illnesses Increase, Some Districts Turn Back to Masking
It’s a proactive move intended to keep kids healthy and in school, leaders say. But it's also likely to be controversial.
Caitlynn Peetz, December 19, 2022
3 min read
Image of a face mask on a school notebook.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Teaching Profession From Our Research Center 'Over It': Most Educators Say They Won't Mask This Fall
But teachers are more likely than administrators to keep masking, EdWeek Research Center survey data show.
Madeline Will, August 12, 2022
7 min read
A partially unzipped backpack contains a face mask, pencils, scissors, and hand sanitizer for the return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Student Well-Being As Students Head Back to School, COVID Protocols Wane
Many districts have dropped one of the most visible and contentious responses to the virus: mandatory universal masking.
Evie Blad, August 4, 2022
8 min read
Students are reminded to wear a mask amidst other chalk drawings on the sidewalk as they arrive for the first day of school at Union High School in Tulsa, Okla., Monday, Aug. 24, 2020.
Chalk drawings from last August remind students to wear masks as they arrive at school.
Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP
School & District Management Some Districts Return to Mask Mandates as COVID Cases Spike
Mask requirements remain the exception nationally and still sensitive in places that have reimposed them.
Libby Stanford, May 16, 2022
4 min read
Face mask hanging on computer screen at an empty desk.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
School & District Management From Our Research Center What Will Schools Do If Another COVID Wave Hits? We Asked Educators
Fifty percent say their schools would reimpose the mask requirements previously in place.
Evie Blad, April 15, 2022
5 min read
Student teacher Olivia Vazquez, standing, left, speaks with a student at the Eliza B. Kirkbride School in Philadelphia on Oct. 20, 2021.
Student teacher Olivia Vazquez, standing, left, speaks with a student at the Eliza B. Kirkbride School in Philadelphia on Oct. 20, 2021.
Matt Rourke/AP
School & District Management School Mask Mandates and the New COVID Variant: What to Watch
As a contagious COVID-19 variant causes climbing case rates in some areas, most schools have yet to re-adopt mask requirements.
Evie Blad, April 13, 2022
6 min read
Kindergartener Quinn Bonk helps her classmate Carter Fairley, both 6, as the two color hearts for a craft project together during a Valentine's Day party in kindergarten teacher Julie VanEvery's classroom on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022 at Thomson Elementary School in Davison, Mich.
Kindergartener Quinn Bonk, right, helps her classmate Carter Fairley on a craft project during a Valentine's Day party last month at Thomson Elementary School in Davison, Mich.
Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP
Student Well-Being A New Imperative for Schools: Protecting Vulnerable Kids as Masks Disappear
Relying only on virtual learning or voluntary masking for kids at greater risk of illness from COVID-19 is legally and medically risky.
Catherine Gewertz, March 10, 2022
6 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Student Well-Being Opinion School Masking Mandates Are Ending. What Have We Learned?
Researcher Nat Malkus talks about his new database that makes it possible to analyze masking requirements of more than 8,000 districts.
Rick Hess, March 10, 2022
5 min read
Image of a high school classroom.
Getty
Student Well-Being What the Research Says Mask Mandates Cut COVID-19 Spread in Schools, Studies Find
In one study, stricter mask policies reduced school infections by more than 70 percent during the delta wave.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 9, 2022
6 min read
A sign posted outside an August 2021 meeting of the Douglas County school board meeting in Castle Rock, Colo., asks visitors to wear masks. The meeting was held to discuss the use of masks and other protective measures in county schools.
A sign posted outside an August 2021 meeting of the Douglas County school board meeting in Castle Rock, Colo., asks visitors to wear masks. The meeting was held to discuss the use of masks and other protective measures in county schools.
Aaron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via AP
Student Well-Being Relaxed Mask Guidelines Raise Anxiety for Parents of Children With Disabilities
The CDC's changes could undercut some legal arguments for those who have pushed universal masking to protect medically vulnerable children.
Evie Blad, March 1, 2022
5 min read