From WSJ Staff Reports —
Teachers and students will not have to wear face masks in Wake County schools starting March 7.
The Wake County school board voted 7-1 on Tuesday to make wearing masks optional.
The schedule approved by the board follows:
▪ immediately for athletes.
▪ 5 p.m. Friday for co-curricular activities that occur outside school hours.
▪ March 7 for all other school activities.
The board rejected amendments to end the mask mandate on Feb. 28 or March 1.
Dates of effectiveness are subject to county, state and federal laws that may change. A General Assembly bill currently sets an end to school mask mandates Feb. 28.
Due to federal requirements, face masks will still be required in school buses.
School officials said recommendations from North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and the state Department of Health and Human Services to end mask mandates aided in their decision.
Face masks will become optional in schools for the first time since March 2020.
Wake County joins other North Carolina school districts that decided this month to end their Covid related mask mandates.
Wake County is the state’s largest district, with 159,000 students and 20,000 employees.
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