Governor says Utah won't mandate masks in schools next fall

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah's governor said Thursday the state has no plans to require masks for students in K-12 schools next fall, following months of mounting pressure from parents calling for the mandate's end.

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox has previously defended his administration’s decision to mandate masks in schools this school year against parent protests, but now says the state's rising vaccination rates indicate that districts are prepared to limit restrictions.

“We now have the ability for those that have concerns about the virus to protect ourselves much more,” Cox told The Associated Press. “We have better masks available and opportunities for people to make those decisions.”

Dozens of districts nationwide have already dropped mask mandates and many more districts have indicated they are likely to not require them next fall. At least half of states still have statewide mask mandates in place, and many school districts still require masks. The school-tracking site Burbio found 62% of schools were offering in-person learning every day by late April.

As recently as last month, Utah's governor said that if the state removed masks “there are a whole bunch of vulnerable kids and vulnerable parents who would have to take their kids out of school and we don’t want that to happen," the Deseret News reported. Cox said Thursday that’s no longer a major concern as cases drop.

Cox said that students who are at a higher risk can protect themselves by wearing N95 masks to school or utilizing remote learning if their school offers it. Those decisions will be up to families rather than the government, he said.

“There will certainly be opportunities to accommodate those who may be struggling or are worried about that but our hope is that … by the time we’re back in school...