Howell K-8 Schools Eliminate Mask Mandate Outdoors, On Buses

HOWELL, NJ - Amid rising temperatures and relaxed guidance from the state, district officials from Howell Township Public Schools have issued their own updated guidance on the masking rules.

"School officials are empowered to relax masking among students and staff in their buildings given extreme weather conditions," Gov. Phil Murphy said at a press conference this week, adding that the provision was one of the exceptions included in the executive order on masking in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

While face masks are now optional per state regulations in stores, restaurants, entertainment venues and more, those in youth summer camps, preschools, elementary and secondary schools are still required to mask up.

"This is for a simple reason: Children under the age of 12 are not yet eligible to be vaccinated,” the governor has said.

“For these younger populations, we're just not there yet.”

Face masks are also required on public transportation like buses and airplanes and hubs like airports, bus terminals and train stations. Read more: Another Big Reopening Day In NJ: What You Can Do Now Amid COVID

Per a June 7 letter from Superintendent of Schools Joseph Isola, face masks need not be worn on school buses or outdoors. Additionally, if an air conditioning unit is not effectively reducing the heat or humidity, students and teachers may remove masks when seated.

“[Murphy’s announcement] should not be interpreted as broad latitude to remove masks,” Isola wrote. “However the district will continue to take a commonsense approach towards maintaining safe and healthy environments for our students and staff. We are fortunate in Howell Township because all of our classrooms are climate controlled; however, we recognize that intense heat does impact the effectiveness of our systems.”

Isola clarified that masks will still be required when students and staff are moving throughout school buildings. Hourly mask breaks will also be granted upon request or as scheduled by a teacher.

Any individual who wishes to wear a face covering can still do so in all settings.

“We will continue to monitor the Governor’s direction and announcements so that we may stay current with any information that may have an impact on our school environment,” the superintendent continued.

You can read Isola’s full letter to parents here.

On June 1, Isola and Board of Education President Mark Bonjavanni penned a letter to Murphy urging the state to drop the mask mandate in schools entirely, joining several other administrations throughout Monmouth County and the state. The letter cited the effectiveness of vaccination efforts throughout Howell, as well as pandemic-related guidance compliance and improved public health data.

The letter also pointed out the “lack of clarity and consistency” in the governor’s recent rollbacks, arguing that students can go out to dinner unmasked with families and attend graduation ceremonies without physical distancing.

“While it is not our role to opine on whether or not students should be masked in our schools, it is our role to question the inconsistency in expectations across settings and ask why schools have been excluded from the relaxed mandates,” the letter reads.

Read the full letter to Gov. Murphy here.