Madison school board votes to lift matrix mandating masks, schools move to “masks-optional” on Thursday

MADISON – Masks will be optional starting Thursday. The Madison City Schools Board of Education voted early Wednesday morning to lift the current mask matrix that has required students wear masks at school. The move comes as other school districts throughout the state are also  lifting their mask mandates, including Madison County Schools, after recent COVID cases began a steady decline.

Masks will continue to be worn on school buses because they are subject to federal regulations.

Masks have been required at Madison City Schools throughout most of the school year. A COVID matrix approved by the school board last fall set conditions when schools can move away from the mandate to a “masks optional” status, but the rise in cases from the Omicron variant kept schools from relaxing the mandate since the beginning of the second semester last month.

“We have said all along that we would monitor the COVID situation and make adjustments if necessary,” Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols said after the vote. “The Board and I believe now is that time. Currently, the COVID positive number in our district is below 1 percent at .29%. In the last few weeks, we have seen a tremendous drop in the community rate of both positive tests and hospitalizations. These factors lead us to believe that we can make this transition to a more normal operational routine in our schools.”

The decision comes after nine parents banded together in a lawsuit against Madison City Schools earlier this month in order to get the district’s mask requirement lifted permanently.

According to Shema Rizo, one of the parents in the suit, they believe school administrators should not have been legally able to require their children to wear masks in the first place. The status of the lawsuit in light of today’s development is unknown at this time.

According to suit, Rizo’s son started getting headaches after wearing a face mask at school, and he also uses a doctor-prescribed inhaler. She has been in routine contact with MCS Superintendent, Dr. Ed Nichols, seeking an exemption from the mask requirement for her son. but has been denied. She said many students are suffering from anxieties after being made to feel that they could potentially kill someone if they took their mask off at school.

The only school district in Madison County that still has a mask mandate in place is Huntsville City Schools. A teacher with the school district who is running for Congress praised the decision by the Madison school board, and called on Huntsville to do the same.

Andy Blalock, a republican candidate for Alabama’s Fifth District, had called on students to stay at home on Friday in protest if the mandates were not reversed.

“I am thrilled for the students that Madison City Schools has dropped their mask mandate. They understand that masks hinder learning and should be mask optional. We need to keep the pressure on so that Huntsville will join the rest of the world in common sense. Our kids need to be able to learn without being masked up,” said Blalock. “As a teacher, I see it firsthand how kids are not as focused and how the masks are constantly in the way.”

The masking issue has deeply divided parents and the community for months. Dr. Nichols made the choice to move to masks optional shortly after school began last fall, but reversed his decision after saying it was brought to his attention he did not have the authority to make the determination without the school board’s approval. The board then decided to keep the mandate in place, and later approved a mask matrix requiring certain conditions be met before the mandate could be lifted. Both decisions brought heated school board meetings with parents arguing for and against the mandate.

Nichols said the school district will respect those that want to continue to wear a mask and those that choose to not wear a mask. “Hopefully, we can soon put COVID behind us and get more normalcy back in our lives. I certainly appreciate and respect those of you that have sent me messages and concerns based on this issue. It is obvious from these messages that all of us care for our community and our school children.”