NORTH CAROLINA, USA — As of September, all Triad school districts will be requiring masks in school settings and buses. Stokes County Schools became the final school district to switch its mask-optional policy to a mandate. Find your school district in this alphabetically ordered list.
Alamance-Burlington Schools - Masks Required
Alamance-Burlington School System board voted August 2 to require students and staff to wear masks for the upcoming school year.
The superintendent recommended keeping masks in schools based on the Centers for Disease Control's latest guidelines, and the board voted 4-3 in favor of keeping masks.
Davidson County Schools - Masks Required
After originally voting to make masks optional at the beginning of the month, the Davidson County School Board voted to require masks in school settings on August 23. The decision came after nearly 300 students had to be quarantined during the first week of school. The school board will revisit the policy after four weeks.
Davie County Schools - Masks Required
Davie County Schools leaders made changes to its mask rules. The school district will now require masks for all students and staff inside school buildings and buses.
Back in July, Davie County voted to make masks optional. DCS now says COVID-19 trends are changing, and not for the better.
District leaders voted to require masks a week before students go back to school.
Guilford County Schools - Masks Required
Guilford County Schools announced July 27 in favor of the mask mandate requirement for everyone on campus. The Board of Education voted 6-3 to approve the mask requirement.
Superintendent Sharon Contreras recommends students and staff who are not fully vaccinated participate in mandatory COVID-19 testing if they play sports or do any other high-risk extracurricular activities.
The district will be keeping track of the vaccination statuses of all employees, student-athletes, coaches and students participating in high-risk, after-school activities.
According to GCS's lawyers, the district can ask the students because they are participating in voluntary activities. GCS can ask employees for their vaccination status because they are an employer.
Lexington City Schools - Masks Required
Lexington City Schools voted August 3 to require masks on school grounds and while on school buses for the first quarter of Fall 2021.
- Medical exemptions MUST have medical documentation.
- Religious belief exemptions must be put in by request in writing to the school principal.
- Visitors are required to wear masks to enter the building and should continue to wear them until they exit.
The school board discussed allowing staff monitored outdoor activities to be held mask less if people are social distancing. They shall provide proof of vaccination status and if they are unvaccinated, they will be tested each week.
The school system also voted to test students involved high-risk extracurricular activities for COVID-19, following guidelines from the StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit.
Fans attending indoor events are to wear a mask and maintain a distance of at least three feet. It is recommended that outside event attendees wear masks or keep six feet apart without a mask.
Fans standing in line at an entrance, exit, concessions, and restrooms should wear a mask and remain at least three feet apart.
Mount Airy City Schools - Masks Required
Mount Airy City Schools will require students to wear masks indoors. They will revisit the policy after one month.
Montgomery County Schools - Masks Required
Montgomery County Schools said on Facebook that all students, pre-k through 12th grade, and staff, will be required to wear masks inside all buildings and on buses regardless of vaccination status.
The district said masks will not be required outside or for outdoor sports. The Facebook post said the district will follow NCHSAA guidelines for indoor sports.
Randolph County Schools - Masks Required
Randolph County Schools reversed its decision on masking for the school year. Students and staff will now be required to wear masks in school settings until at least October.
The school board voted 4-3 on Sunday, August 29 to require masks. The decision reversed the district's mask-optional policy, which the school board voted on back in July.
Rockingham County Schools - Masks Required
Rockingham County School Board reversed its decision on masking for the school year. Students and staff are required to wear masks in classrooms.
The school board voted 4-3 in favor of a mask mandate during its emergency meeting Friday morning. The vote reversed the board’s original decision on August 9 to keep masks optional.
The school board said it will continue to monitor COVID-19 trends and revisit the mask policy as needed.
Stokes County Schools - Masks Required
Stokes County Schools announced Tuesday it would switch to mandatory masks. Board members previously voted against the mask mandate, making it masks optional for students and staff.
"This motion will start the school year by informing parents about the benefits of vaccination and masking, and the consequences of not being fully vaccinated and not wearing a mask, but leaving the decision up to individual employees and adults, and the parents or guardians of minor children," the school board initially said in a Facebook post.
Stokes County Schools officials said they will continue to work with the health department to further evaluate trends.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools - Masks Required
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools' Board of Education voted to approve the mask mandate for students, staff and visitors. The mask mandate is for those 5 years old and older. School board members said they will reassess the mask mandate at the end of the first ten weeks.
Wilkes County Schools - Masks Required
Wilkes County Schools will require masks for students and staff starting Tuesday, August 31.
School officials said masks will be mandatory for all students and staff while indoors and on school buses. The decision will be revisited four weeks following Monday, August 30.
The school system previously approved masks as optional for students and teachers as long as the county threshold of positive cases for school-age students stayed below the recommended levels.
Yadkin County Schools - Masks Required
Yadkin County Schools has mandated masks for all students and staff indoors for four weeks starting Tuesday, August 24. The board will revisit the policy after four weeks.
Forsyth Country Day School - Masks Required
Face coverings are required indoors for all students, staff, and visitors during school day.
Greensboro Day School - Masks Required
Masks will be required in all indoor settings. The school will revisit that requirement if they see substantial improvement in community positivity rates and any change would be made only after consulting guidelines from the state and federal health authorities.
Asheboro City Schools - Masks Required
Asheboro City Board of Education voted Thursday night to require masks.
What the CDC is saying:
Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to rise.
The CDC also recommends indoor masks for all teachers, staff, students and visitors at schools nationwide, regardless of vaccination status.