Masks 'Not Mandated' At Princeton Schools Starting March 7

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton Public Schools will no longer mandate masks for staff and students at school buildings come March 7, the district announced. Students and staff are, however, "encouraged" to wear them.

New Jersey's school mask mandate is set to expire on March 7.

The decision was made “seeing the decline” in COVID-19 positive cases in the area, Superintendent Carol Kelley said in a letter to the school community Monday evening.

“After monitoring the COVID activity levels and consulting with the Princeton Health Department and our district physician, PPS will no longer mandate masking after March 7 although we will continue to encourage masking in our schools and on buses,” Kelley said.

“This reflects the recommendations of the NJ Department of Health and recent CDC guidelines.”

In the coming weeks and months, the school district will “closely monitor” the COVID-19 activity level in the area and the number of positive cases in schools. If the COVID-19 activity level returns to the “high” or “very high” range, the school district will move back to mandatory masking, Kelley said.

Masking will also be made mandatory in case of an active COVID-19 outbreak in schools.

Students and staff who return to school on days 6-10 after isolation or quarantine will need to be masked, Kelley said. Similarly, students or staff who become ill in school with COVID-19 like symptoms will have to mask up.

Students who are eligible for a booster shot have been urged to get one “as soon as possible.” In Princeton, the vaccination rate for ages 5 and above is 87 percent and for ages 12 and over, is 88 percent.

"Also, please remember that our pre-school students who are younger than age 5 are not eligible for vaccinations. We highly encourage the families of pre-school pupils to mask their children,” Kelley said.

Since some students may choose to be masked and others won’t, the Superintendent urged parents and guardians to speak to children about the “importance of being tolerant of one another and to be kind to those who may have opinions that they do not share.”

Almost all school districts in the state have made masking optional come March 7, including neighboring South Brunswick, Lawrence Township, and East Windsor.

Meanwhile, a few schools districts including New Brunswick, Newark, Paterson, East Orange, Plainfield and South Orange-Maplewood have decided to continue mask mandates after March 7.

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