TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teacher’s union today announced it was supportive of Governor Phil Murphy’s promise to keep school children in face masks.
New Jersey is one of just over a dozen states that currently have school mask mandates for children.
Gov. Murphy announced today that the statewide masking mandate for public schools will remain in place “for the foreseeable future.” NJEA President Sean M. Spiller, Vice President Steve Beatty and Secretary-Treasurer Petal Robertson released this statement:
“We are pleased that Gov. Murphy has committed to this common-sense step to keep public school students and staff safer during this current COVID surge. Everyone is eager for the day that masks and other COVID safety measures are no longer necessary and the best way to achieve that is for New Jersey to continue following all of the school safety measures currently recommended for schools, including masking, social distancing and vaccination for all who are eligible. NJEA will continue to advocate for the measures that are necessary to keep students safe, healthy and learning and that put our state in the best position to finally emerge from this pandemic. We are proud to work with a governor who shares our commitment to protecting our students and providing the safest possible learning environment for them at this challenging time.”
Later in the evening, outgoing Senate President Steve Sweeney announced the state senate will not be voting to extend the governor’s executive orders beyond Tuesday.