Framingham Public Schools To Be Mask Optional Starting March 7

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FRAMINGHAM – The Framingham Public School district will go mask optional as of March 7, as long as the Framingham Board of Health and the Mayor lift the mask mandate order on February 22.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education has called for the mask mandate in schools to be lifted on Monday, February 28, following the traditional February school vacation week in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Masking continues to be required on all school buses, per a federal order.

And the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Massachusetts Department of Public Health strongly recommend that unvaccinated individuals continue to wear masks in school settings.

Several school districts, including neighboring Ashland, have opted to make masks optional in the schools, but not on February 28, the day students and staff return from school vacation week. They have chosen a week later on March 7.

A School Committee vote is needed to go that route in Ashland. The decision does not rest solely with the Superintendent of Schools.

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Framingham Superintendent of Schools Bob Tremblay has the authority to decide when a mask advisory is in place, unlike in neighboring Ashland, where the School Committee has the final say.

Tremblay told SOURCE, the 9-member elected School Committee gave him the authority to decide if masks are required, or masks are optional, or no masks are required back in May 2021.

In some school districts, the issue of masks were negotiated via a teacher’s unit contract. That is not the case in Framingham.

Framingham Public Schools sent out the following to families this afternoon:

1. Masks are required on all school buses, per federal order;
2. Masks are required in all school health offices;
3. Vaccinations are the best protection against COVID-19, and we will continue to provide support to our staff, students, and families to increase our rates;
4. Testing is an important risk mitigation effort. The District strongly recommends that families enroll in both pooled testing and the at-home test kit distribution programs;
5. It is strongly recommended that unvaccinated or immunocompromised individuals continue to wear masks in school settings. Masks of all varieties (surgical, KN95) will continue to be made available to students and staff, as needed;
6. Air purifiers in classrooms and throughout the schools and offices will remain in use, and ongoing air filtration system upgrades will continue;
7. We continue to encourage frequent handwashing as well as continued use of hand sanitizer;
8. Continued physical distancing will remain in place to the extent possible;
9. If an outbreak should occur, the District may choose to reinstate the masking requirement, at the individual school or district level, upon consultation with the Framingham Department of Public Health.

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IMPORTANT: IF YOU TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 PLEASE NOTIFY THE SCHOOL NURSE.  

Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 may return to school after 5 days of isolation if their symptoms have resolved.  Students and staff are required to wear a mask (except when eating, drinking, or outside) for an additional 5 days upon returning to school or until 10 days have passed since a positive test.  

“As always, any individual who wishes to continue to mask, including those who face higher risk from COVID-19, should be supported in that choice. We want our school community to be a respectful one where individual and family choice is honored,” wrote Supt. Tremblay.

“The pandemic has been and continues to be a challenge to all of us in so many different ways. I thank you for your partnership and cooperation as we come together, as a community, to cautiously – yet optimistically – take this next step toward recovery,” said Supt. Tremblay.

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