The American Academy of Pediatrics last week suggested universal masking for students this fall, with acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey soon following suit with a mask requirement for all BPS students come September. Statewide, however, it is a different matter, spurring some Massachusetts lawmakers to push Gov. Charlie Baker for a universal mask mandate. In for Jim Braude on Greater Boston, Adam Reilly spoke with State Sen. Rebecca Rausch, who is one of the lawmakers behind the push, and Merrie Najimy, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, to learn more.
Rausch said the mask mandate is needed to ensure consistency in schools. “We know that COVID-19 knows no boundaries — it does not recognize the difference between one district and the next," she said. “So we need a consistent policy implemented statewide where there is no confusion [and] clear guidance.”
Najimy supports a mask mandate, and said that during her 26 years as a teacher, she always starts the year by creating norms with her students. “Kids have been heroes with masking,” she said. “Masking fits in with the norms we develop with our students because kids have a fundamental sense of what’s fair. And they learned during the pandemic that when they mask, they are protecting their friends, their entire school community, and that’s their sense of fairness.”
WATCH: The debate over masks in schools
