Full-Time In-Person Learning Required For All Massachusetts Schools This Fall
BOSTON (CBS) – Full-time in-person learning will be required in all Massachusetts schools this fall.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released new guidelines for the next school year late Thursday night.
For the 2021-22 school year, all districts will be required to be in-person five days a week and there will be very limited options available for remote learning.
Social distancing requirements will be lifted.
A decision on masks in elementary school buildings will be made later this summer.
"No decision has been made on that," state Education Commissioner Jeff Riley told WBZ-TV Friday.
"I think that's very clear in our guidance that we're going to work with DPH over the summer to assess the situation. A lot can happen in the next 6-to-8 weeks and so we just, as always, we will work with the medical community to make good decisions."
Merrie Najimy, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, said there should be "no rapid move" to get rid of masks for elementary school children until they are eligible for the vaccine.
"The Baker administration must recognize that the pandemic is not over and that there are many variables to keep an eye on throughout the summer and into the fall," Najimy said in a statement.
"Therefore, it is premature to jump to decisions to drop all of the mitigation strategies that have proven to be effective. We believe that more safeguards must be built into the Baker administration's school guidance and vaccination practices to ensure that in-person learning in the fall is as safe as it can be for every student."
Current COVID restrictions will remain in place for the rest of this school year.
For more information on the updates for the fall, click here.
