Apr 12, 2022 - COVID

St. Paul Public Schools to drop mask mandate

Torey Van Oot

Illustration of a school crossing sign wearing a mask. — Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

Masks will be optional for St. Paul Public Schools students starting next week.

Driving the news: The city's school board voted 6-1 Tuesday to drop the district-wide mask mandate as long as case levels remain low, the Pioneer Press reports. The change takes effect Monday.

The big picture: More than 95% of K-12 school districts tracked by Burbio nationwide are no longer requiring masks.

Flashback: Just last month, the school board voted 3-2 to continue the mandate. Two members were absent at the time.

Of note: A mask mandate remains in effect for Minneapolis Public Schools.

When asked for an update on the district's policy, an MPS spokesperson told Axios that leaders continue to meet with an "external COVID-19 Regional Support Team to create and implement a transition plan in our school district."

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St. Paul Public Schools to drop mask mandate

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