Over the past year, classroom masking requirements sparked intense debate online and at school board meetings, led to a lawsuit against the governor and prompted protests across Orange County and the state.

So on Monday, as local school districts started preparing plans to go mask-optional in less than two weeks under newly announced changes to state guidelines, reactions from parents to teachers proved, perhaps unsurprisingly, mixed.

In an announcement Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said starting March 12 (which is a Saturday) face coverings at schools statewide will be strongly recommended rather than required for students and teachers, regardless of whether they’re vaccinated.

Capistrano Unified School District will go mask optional starting March 14, spokesman Ryan Burris said.

There has been a “very strong reaction” to the mask requirement by some parents of students in the last several weeks, he said, and they’ve been vocal in letting the school board and district officials know they wanted their children to be able to attend class without a mask on. Statewide masking requirements eased for much of the population Feb. 15, but not for schools.

Those who might feel more comfortable with a mask requirement have been less vocal, Burris said. “We have not heard from them, but I’m sure that we could as we prepare for the next few weeks.”

“We’ve followed (California Department of Public Health) guidance since March of 2020, so in essence, we’re just staying consistent with what we’ve been doing,” he said.

Masked students wait to go to their classroom during the first day of class at Stanford Elementary School in Garden Grove, CA on Monday, August 16, 2021. The governors of California, Oregon and Washington have announced that schoolchildren will no longer required to wear masks starting March 12, 2022. The governors of the three states announced the measure in a joint statement as part of new indoor mask policies that come as coronavirus case and hospitalization rates decline across the West Coast. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

School masking rules have turned school board meetings heated in several districts. In the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, maskless attendees prompted the school board to end a couple of January meetings early.

In a message distributed Monday, district officials notified parents and teachers the use of face coverings on campuses will become a choice starting March 12. Some health measures, such as hand washing stations, the use of air purifiers, extra cleaning and added lunch tables, will remain in place, district spokeswoman Alyssa Griffiths said.

Summer Fry, who has protested her three children, ages 8, 12 and 14, being required to wear masks throughout the school day, said Monday’s announcement was “long overdue.” But she remains frustrated that students – at the lowest risk for serious illness, she said – will have to wait at least another two weeks to shed their face coverings in the classroom.

“These kids are really suffering,” she said. “We don’t know the long term effects these are going to have on the kids.”

Just a couple months ago, schools throughout the county were facing staffing shortages, with large numbers of teachers at home during a winter surge fueled by the Omicron variant.

Denise Bradford, who represents the region containing most of Orange and San Diego counties on the California Teachers Association board of directors, said the reaction to Monday’s announcement among teachers she’s spoken to has been mixed.

“Some people have thought it’s absolutely ridiculous, that it’s hurting students more than helping,” Bradford said. “And others have been like, we shouldn’t even be at school. And everywhere in between.”

Many told her they plan to continue wearing masks in the classroom regardless of a mandate, she said.

The labor group, which represents more than 300,000 California educators, “has taken the position that we just want safety first,” she said.

In a statement Monday, CTA President E. Toby Boyd said, “we urge local school districts to continue to work with educators and families and to act cautiously while prioritizing the safety of students, educators, and their families.”

Krissy Brownell, who teaches high school English in Westminster, was unsurprised but “more than a little frustrated” Monday when she learned that California plans to end its school mask mandate.

She’s not in love with masks. She wears them because she doesn’t want to spread coronavirus to others and because she and her two youngest children are immunocompromised.

And this year, the in-school mandate – and the fact that the vast majority of kids in her school follow mask rules – has helped keep Brownell and her family relatively healthy.

“I saw that California educates about 12% of the nation’s children, but we’ve had only about 1% of all school closures, nationally, because of (coronavirus). So, clearly, our response was effective,” Brownell said of the statistics reported by the New York Times in October.

Brownell said she looks forward to the moment when her youngest children can be vaccinated and their lives can return to normal.

“Once that happens, it’ll change everything for me,” she said.

“But that’s not now,” she added. “As a teacher, I’m expected to go into school and teach 180 students a day. I don’t really know where to go from here.”

In the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, Superintendent Crystal Turner noted in a message to parents Monday that district officials “acknowledge that this new guidance is welcome news for some families and staff members, while for others, it is a source of concern.”

Turner’s message to parents noted that district officials will continue to follow safety guidance from state and county health officials, “along with strongly respecting the masking choice of each individual.”

The district will align with the state’s March 12 date to make face coverings optional on campus, but until then, masks are required, she noted. Schools will continue offering masks to students and staff who want them.

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