ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The fight over masks in Maryland schools has reached a new fever pitch. With lawsuits, rallies and Gov. Larry Hogan speaking out, we could soon see Maryland follow Virginia in eliminating mask mandates in schools across the state before the end of the school year.
Dozens of parents and students turned out at the state house in Annapolis Thursday morning for a rally requesting the legislature rescind the Emergency Order requiring masks in schools, and asking Gov. Hogan to pass an Executive Order barring mask mandates in school districts.
"Please Make Masks Optional," signs from parents read.
"Unmask us, we want to breathe," read signs held by young children who took the day off from school to protest with their families.
The rally comes two days after a separate coalition of Maryland parents filed a lawsuit against the Maryland State Board of Education challenging the mask mandate, according to CBS-affiliate WJZ in Baltimore.
“The patience of parents has really begun to run out and they are eager to put an end to this,” said attorney Ed Hartman III, who’s representing a group going by Coalition of Maryland Parents, said to the outlet.
Hogan spoke on Monday regarding the latest COVID-19 metrics in the Old Line State and echoed a letter he wrote last week to President Clarence Crawford of the MSBOE calling for the board to rescind its mask policy.
“A growing number of medical professionals, parents, and bipartisan state officials throughout the nation are calling for an end to school mask requirements,” Hogan wrote. “In light of dramatic improvements to our health metrics and the widespread availability of vaccines, I am calling on you to take action to rescind this policy.”
The state’s health metrics continue to substantially move in the right direction, and as a result, Hogan announced the end of required masks in state buildings at the news conference.
The new measure will go into effect on Feb. 22, he said. Masks will no longer be required for employees and visitors in all state buildings and leased space in all public or shared spaces. Masks will continue to be strongly recommended for employees and visitors who are unvaccinated, Hogan said.
According to the CDC's latest guidance, schools are recommended to require universal indoor masking by all students (ages 2 years and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. The CDC director recently announced that transmission and hospital rates remain too high across the United States from the most recent omicron variant surge for a change in school mask guidance just yet.