APS, Decatur schools drop mask mandate today — but one district will still require them

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ATLANTA — More metro Atlanta school districts are dropping their requirements for masks, but that is not the case for every district.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidance Friday, saying that areas with low levels of transmission could scale back on wearing masks indoors.

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Based on the guidance, masks are no longer required in the classroom for Atlanta Public Schools and City of Decatur Schools starting Tuesday. Gwinnett County Schools are also in the low range and dropped theirs Monday.

APS will still require masks on school buses. City of Decatur Schools strongly encourage masks on buses.

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However, Clayton County Schools will be keeping their current mask policy in place.

The district said it will require masks until the county sees a higher vaccination rate.

“Since all grades in the Clayton County Public Schools returned to face-to-face instruction in August 2021, the district has maintained that all employees and students must wear masks while on school property which includes buses and buildings. While the district cannot control political actions related to this issue, our intent is to continue to monitor data from local, state, and federal health agencies pertaining to the spread of COVID-19 and the vaccination rate and to keep the mask policy in place until our county has a higher vaccination rate, and/or until the pandemic is declared over,” the district said in a statement.

DeKalb County Schools is the other metro district that has kept a mask requirement in place since the school year started in August. Channel 2 has reached out to the district to see if they will keep or drop their mandate.

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