Bill to ban mask mandates in schools narrowly clears hurdle
Mar. 28—CONCORD — A ban on mandatory mask policies in public schools narrowly cleared the House of Representatives Thursday.
State Rep. Kristin Noble, R-Bedford, said her bill would give the power for mask wearing "to the local decision makers," the parents of school-aged children.
"This bill protects choice, but it also protects school boards from placing themselves in the middle of what parents want for their children," Noble said.
"School boards are not qualified to make these types of decisions. If there is a public health crisis in the future, then the state will need to create the mandate, and not our local school districts."
Rep. Peggy Balboni, D-Rye, said the measure was an overreaction to the concerns raised about mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"No one can predict what will happen in the future. Best practices in health, disease, and prevention continue to evolve based upon scientific advances," Balboni said.
"We need to continue to allow our local, elected school boards the freedom to respond to health emergencies according to the individual needs of their community, rather than remove options that could potentially be recommended by other local, state, and federal health experts."
Without debate, the House agreed to amend the bill to allow mask wearing to occur if it is part of either an accommodation plan for a student or an individualized education plan for a student with special needs.
The 187-184 vote, largely along partisan lines, sent the bill to the State Senate.
Rep. Jonah Wheeler of Peterborough was the only House Democrat to support the ban; House Republicans who opposed it were Reps. Mike Bordes of Laconia, Bill Boyd of Merrimack, Matthew Coker of Meredith and Dan Wolf of Newbury.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Chris Sununu's mask mandates specifically exempted public schools from the requirement, leaving it up to local boards to set their own policies.
In the summer of 2021, state health and education officials issued revised guidance about face coverings in schools.
The advice urged school officials to allow for "flexibility" from the requirement and to consider allowing children at times to take their masks off.
Then, in February 2022, Sununu called upon school boards to voluntarily drop their mask mandates.
After the Republican-led Legislature passed a similar bill that banned mask wearing policies in schools, Sununu vetoed it in May 2022, branding it a violation of local control.
The House sustained Sununu's veto.
