N.J. schools begin resisting, ignoring Phil Murphy’s mask mandate

New Jersey’s local educational officials are going their own way despite Phil Murphy’s refusal to relax school mask mandates.

NJ 101.5 reported on Tuesday that a number of school districts including Lacey Township, Brick Township, Clark, East Brunswick, Hamilton (Mercer County) and Mount Olive are either eliminating or relaxing mask requirements.

Also on Tuesday, Middle Township (Cape May County) High School announced that masking will no longer be required effective June 9th.

A number of schools including Deptford (Gloucester County) are citing a loophole in Murphy’s executive order which allows for heat exceptions to masking requirements.

School officials’ acts of independence present both a logistical and political problem for the Murphy Administration as public opinion continues to shift against continued draconian pandemic restrictions. On Monday, Murphy allowed that the heat wave was a valid reason to temporarily skip masking at schools at summer camps, but the governor previously said he believes masking mandates for school kids will continue into the fall 2021 semester.

The weight of science continues to lean in the direction of COVID-19 presenting a low risk of serious illness for children

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