BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge school system says it will end its masking requirement on campuses in January so long as coronavirus cases continue to trend downward.

Read the full announcement from the school system here. 

The East Baton Rouge Parish School System announced on Wednesday that if the current downward trend of COVID-19 positivity rate persists, masks will be optional when students and staff return on January 4, 2022.

Upon the advice of our Health Advisory Committee, comprised of leading physicians and infectious disease experts, if the district’s positivity rate continues to decline and/or remains at 0.5% through the fall semester, it will be acceptable to allow optional masking throughout EBRPSS.

“We have continued to listen to the advice of our health advisers throughout the course of the pandemic. By working together, following the guidance of health care professionals and taking all possible precautions, we have continued to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Our community has reached a point where that hard work is allowing us the opportunity to continue to relax some of the ongoing guidance and continue to return to a sense of normalcy,” stated Superintendent Sito Narcisse, Ed.D.

Trend averages will be used as a marker for this criterion moving forward. A district COVID-19 positivity rate of 0.5% or greater over a 10- to 14-day period will signal the need to return to mask protocols within the system.

All students will still be required to wear masks while riding a school bus, per presidential order.