The Maryland State Board of Education (MSDE) announced a special virtual meeting for Tuesday, November 16, to gather public feedback on masking in schools.
Maryland’s current mask mandate requires masks to be worn in all public school facilities, a measure passed and adopted in September to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in schools.
As COVID vaccines are becoming readily available for Maryland’s youth and the State starts to revisit COVID-related school policies, MSDE is seeking public input on the mandate.
Per an MSDE press release:
The Maryland State Board of Education will host a special virtual meeting on Tuesday, November 16 at 1 p.m. via WebEx. The meeting will collect feedback on the state’s emergency school mask requirement through public input and public health expert testimony.
…
During the meeting, the State Board will provide an extended public comment period. The State Board will hear from several panels consisting of Maryland parents and students, key education stakeholders and national public health experts. In addition, the Maryland Department of Health will provide a status update on COVID-19 in the state and MSDE will provide an update.
The virtual meeting comes after MSDE recently suggested that it would revisit and reconsider masking and quarantine policies in December.
Instructions for submitting public comments and/or participating in the meeting:
- Public comment can be provided during this meeting according to the guidelines for virtual participation. Comments are limited to three minutes. Registration is limited to 20 individuals and is first come, first served. Once the 20-person maximum is reached additional individuals may be placed on a waiting list.
- Registration for public comment is now open and ends at 3 p.m. on Monday, November 15. Interested individuals can register by calling the Office of the State Board of Education at 410-767-0467 and leaving a message, or by emailing your request to stateboard.msde@maryland.gov. Confirmed registrants will be notified and provided information to access the meeting, along with guidelines for participating.
