Jeffrey Riley

The mask mandate for Massachusetts public schools will remain in effect through at least Nov. 1, education officials announced Monday, adding the date when some schools can apply to lift that mandate by showing an 80% vaccination rate for students and staff. Middle and high schools that have reached that target can apply to lift the mandate on Oct. 15,…

A mask mandate for Massachusetts public schools went into effect Wednesday that requires nearly everyone to wear masks indoors at the schools through at least the beginning of October. Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley issued the new regulations, which he was granted the authority to Tuesday, requiring all public school students age 5 and up, along with all staffers and…

Masks will be required indoors in Massachusetts schools until at least Oct. 1.

After receiving authorization on Tuesday, the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Wednesday authorized a mask mandate for students through the beginning of October. Effective immediately, students in public schools age 5 and older, as well as all public school staff and visitors, must wear masks indoors through at least Oct. 1, under Commissioner Jeffrey…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will consider a request Tuesday from the state’s education commissioner for the power to instate a mask mandate in schools this fall.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted Tuesday to grant the Massachusetts education commissioner the power to establish a statewide mask mandate in schools this fall. By a 9-1 vote during a virtual meeting, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education decided to give Commissioner Jeff Riley the authority to require masks in K-12 schools for the imminent start…

Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said Friday he plans to ask the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to give him the authority to mandate masks for all K-12 public school students, teachers and staff through Oct. 1. Riley said in a statement that the reason for the mask mandate is to ensure that schools fully reopen safely and to…

From pool testing to music class with no singing, Massachusetts’ top education official got an up-close look at how the coronavirus pandemic has changed Roberts Elementary in Medford Thursday.  “We were one of the few districts that started testing, which helped with anxiety and worry,” Medford Superintendent Dr. Maurice Edouard-Vincent said.  Medford officials plan to continue the pool testing into…

Superintendent of Boston Public Schools Brenda Cassellius is seeking a three-week extension from the Massachusetts education board for the return to in-person learning full-time.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced Friday that the state will make weekly COVID-19 pool testing available to Massachusetts schools within the next month to help bring more students back into the classroom. The governor and his administration’s education officials have regularly been promoting in-person learning, and the governor said Friday that “too many kids remain learning remotely or in complicated...

All Massachusetts communities in the gray, green and yellow COVID risk categories are expected to have students learning in-person, and even those in the highest-risk red category should consider a hybrid model instead of going fully remote, state officials said Friday. They made the announcement, which was greeted with skepticism by the state’s top teacher’s union official, as they...