Tuesday, March 1 marks the first day that masking indoors is now just strongly recommended for vaccinated and unvaccinated people in California.
It will be another two weeks before the same protocol is put in place for schools and childcare facilities.
San Luis Coastal Unified School District, Templeton Unified School District, Atascadero Unified School District, and Lucia Mar Unified School District are all meeting Tuesday night to discuss the new masking protocol.
“We hear the concerns. There are a lot of concerns from people with different perspectives of what is going on and obviously, when we make decisions, we’re not going to please everyone,” said Templeton Unified School District President Dr. Nelson Yamagata.
Many parents say they are relieved by the lifting of the mask mandates.
“We can start to feel normal again,” said elementary school parent Bethany Lopez-Aguilar.
“We are happy that we’ve made progress,” said San Luis Coastal parent Corrin Lepell.
“I’m so glad there is an endpoint and I know my children are going to be thrilled,” said parent Nicole Dorfman.
Board members say they are preparing to address concerns from parents.
“I don’t understand why we’re pushing it back two weeks,” Dorfman added.
“Although we want to see the masks come off today, having mask choice needs to remain permanently,” Lepell said.
“There is no reason to have kept masks on them this entire time. We see entire countries and other states that never did this to their children,” said Templeton parent Jennifer Grinager.
“Some people are ready now and some people are going to take a little more time and I think we have to make sure we have ways of dealing with everyone,” Yamagata said.
Each board meeting is offering the opportunity for public comment.
The official start date masks will be strongly recommended is Saturday, March 12.
Schools are expected to start lifting their masking requirements that Monday, March 14.