Boston students return for first day of school without mask requirements
BOSTON – For many students, the first day of school will feel different this year.
For the first time since before the COVID pandemic, masks won't be required in Boston Public Schools Thursday as about 50,000 students return the the classroom.
Masks will be required in certain situations, like if a classroom or school is experiencing a COVID outbreak.
"BPS and the Boston Health Commission have really taken a targeted approach where because we know how to treat, how to watch, how to manage things, it's really going to be a district-wide mask optional policy, but requirement for any individual clusters that might pop up or cases identified in specific classrooms in schools to then have masking requirements to take care of that should it pop up and should it arise again," Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said.
Staff and students will be provided take-home COVID tests every two weeks and are encouraged to test Sunday night or Monday before school.
In-school testing will be available for students who are symptomatic.
Every classroom and common area also has an air purifier, and buildings are cleaned multiple times a day.
School officials said chronic absenteeism jumped statewide during the pandemic.
On Wednesday, a group of Boston Public Schools staff and volunteers went door-to-door in Roxbury, Dorchester and Jamaica Plain in an effort to make direct contact with students who have dropped out or missed a large number of days, hoping to encourage them to return to the classroom.
Wu kicked off the first day of school at the bus yard in Hyde Park. She said the city does have enough drivers to cover all routes this year, but they will continue hiring throughout the year.