CHARLOTTE, N.C. — School districts across the Charlotte area are easing back policies for face coverings.
Three school districts were scheduled to have meetings on Tuesday, Feb. 22: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Alexander County Schools and Watauga County Schools.
Prior to the meetings, the three systems required masks for students, staff and visitors inside school campuses. The latest guidance from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) encourages districts to ease back policies for face coverings and end contact tracing. The NCDHHS recommendations were made effective Feb. 21.
You can see how each of the three boards of education decided below:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
The CMS Board of Education voted to have optional masking effective March 7.
The vote passed unanimously.
The decision comes after Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners recently voted to rescind the county-wide mask mandate effective Feb. 26.
WCNC Charlotte will follow updates as they become available.
Alexander County Schools
The board voted unanimously to move to a masks-optional policy effective Feb. 23. The special-called meeting lasted just a little longer than 10 minutes.
Watauga County Schools
Superintendent Scott Elliott confirmed with WCNC Charlotte on Tuesday the district will no longer require masks effective Feb. 28. Board members voted 5-0 on the measure.
Anson County Schools and Richmond County Schools are two other districts in North Carolina that currently require masks. Anson County leaders meet Feb. 28 and Richmond County officials will meet on Feb. 25.
WCNC Charlotte is part of seven major media companies and other local institutions reporting on and engaging the community around the problems and solutions as they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a project of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, which is supported by the Local Media Project, an initiative launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with support from the Knight Foundation to strengthen and reinvigorate local media ecosystems. See all of our reporting at charlottejournalism.org.