School districts in Maine are taking varied approaches to mask mandates for the coming school year.
The superintendent of the Bangor School Department announced on Monday that all students and school employees will be required to wear masks while inside school buildings. Superintendent James Tager said the district felt the wise move was to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for universal indoor masking as the coronavirus pandemic stretches into another school year.
The school district in Portland, which is the largest in Maine, plans to follow a similar protocol. But the School Committee in Lewiston, another of Maine’s large, urban school districts, recently rejected a motion to require masks and chose instead to make mask use optional.
Schools begin opening at the end of the month. Maine is currently experiencing a resurgence of cases of coronavirus, but the state has recommended full-time, in-person learning.
