Catholic school children in the Maryland suburbs will be able to show their faces in school for the first time in 23 months.
The Archdiocese of Washington has lifted its mask mandate, according to multiple sources who were on phone calls this morning with the archdiocese.
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Catholic schools in the District of Columbia, however, are still forced to require masks indefinitely by the order of Mayor Muriel Bowser, who lifted the mask mandate effective March 1 for adults in nightclubs or theaters, but not for children in public or private schools.
In Maryland, county governments have allowed private schools to set their own mask policies. Parochial schools (K-8 schools attached to Catholic parishes) are under the authority of the archdiocese, which announced over the summer that it would require masks.
As the omicron wave in the D.C. area receded throughout January, the local governments in Montgomery County and Prince George’s County made it clear they would let their mask mandates expire. Parents (including me and my wife) from archdiocesan schools in Maryland and D.C. began lobbying the Catholic Schools office and the archbishop, Cardinal Wilton Gregory. These parents launched a website through which about 1,500 parents signed a letter begging the archbishop to adopt a mask-optional policy.
The website also published letters from children explaining how masking for seven hours a day interfered with learning and childhood in general. “During the school year, I often get answers wrong because masks are preventing me from hearing my teachers correctly,” one student wrote. Others wrote about the difficulty of breathing in gym class while masked — as required by the archdiocese.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore ended its mask mandate on Feb. 13.
Independent Catholic schools in the Washington Archdiocese began switching to mask-optional in mid-February, led by Mater Dei, a first-through-eighth grade school in Bethesda, and Our Lady of Good Counsel, a high school in Olney sponsored by the Xavierian brothers.
Wednesday morning, the archdiocese informed principals in D.C. and some Maryland schools about the rule change, which goes into effect on Feb. 21, the same day Montgomery County’s indoor mask mandate expires.
Public school students in D.C., Prince George’s, and Montgomery County are still required by their school boards to mask all day.
