Students in California’s K-12 public schools who refuse to wear masks indoors won’t be allowed on campus, state officials initially announced Monday.
The California Department of Public Health’s updated guidance for the 2021-22 school year released on Monday required all students, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks indoors unless they have a medical exemption.
Mere hours after releasing the new guidance, the California Department of Public Health tweeted that masking enforcement "will be clarified."
The state didn't specify when the guidance will be updated. The initial guidance said it would be first revisited on Nov. 1.
Under the guidance released Monday, schools were to have protocols in place to provide a mask if a student forgot theirs. If a student refused to wear a mask, school-provided or otherwise, schools couldn't let them on campus.
"Schools should offer alternative educational opportunities for students who are excluded from campus because they will not wear a face covering," the department initially said.
State officials first issued the new guidance three days after California Gov. Newsom said masks would be required for all students in the upcoming school year in order to have in-person instruction. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's July 9 guidance said masks were not needed in schools, but the agency ultimately left the decision up to state and local jurisdictions.
Following the federal guidance, California will not mandate physical distancing within classrooms because students will have to wear masks. The most recent state data indicates nearly 99.2% of responding public school districts plan to offer full, in-person instruction this school year.
California children aged 12 or older are eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. As of Friday, eligible children represented 9.3% of the vaccine-eligible state population. Children comprised just 5.8% of the vaccinated population at that time.
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