Despite Arizona ban, Phoenix Union High School District announces indoor masks mandate

Phoenix Union High School District will require masks to be worn indoors when students head back to school next week — despite an Arizona law that bans mask mandates.

Citing the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus and updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, the district said students, staff and visitors must wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

In a statement, Gov. Doug Ducey's office said Phoenix Union's policy is not allowed under Arizona law, calling the district's move "unenforceable."

"Arizona is not anti-mask, we’re anti-mask mandate," the statement said. "As the governor has often said, mask usage is up to parents. If a parent wants their child to wear a mask at school, they are free to do so."

At a news conference on Friday, Phoenix Union Superintendent Chad Gestson repeatedly declined to comment on whether the district was following state law. He said he has been in talks with his legal team about the mandate but reiterated that his job was about the health and safety of schools.

The Governor's Office said decisions about masks are about personal responsibility and parental choice.

"School administrators should be doing everything they can to encourage eligible students and staff to get vaccinated, not break state law," the statement said.

But Gestson said mask and vaccines are not an "either-or debate."

"This is not a debate of should you get the vaccine and should you wear your mask," he said. "What science tells us is that we should get our vaccine and at the same time, especially in the presence of a fast-growing, dangerous delta variant, that we should wear masks."

Gestson, who spoke Friday from Alhambra High School, where a vaccination event was taking place, said student or staff refusal to wear masks will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

He also said the Governor's Office was aware of the district's intention to implement a mask mandate.

The budget bill passed by the Arizona Legislature this summer prohibits school boards from mandating that students or staff wear masks or be vaccinated. The ban took effect June 30, according to a provision in the legislation.

Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, said lawmakers acted to prohibit mask policies like Phoenix Union's and said she has asked the Legislative Council and the Arizona Attorney General's Office to determine the effective date of the law banning local mask mandates.

"It is clear we still have an issue with rogue school boards when it comes to forcing masks," she said.

Phoenix Union policy comes after new CDC recommendations

In its announcement earlier Friday, Phoenix Union said the district believed it was "imperative" to follow guidance from the CDC and other health agencies.

"Recently, we have heard from our staff, students, and families that they want us to realign our mitigation practices with the guidelines and recommendations of national and local health agencies," the district said in a statement.

The CDC on Tuesday updated its recommendations on masks, advising universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors inside schools from kindergarten to 12th grade, both vaccinated and unvaccinated.

The delta variant of the virus is surging in Arizona as the most dominant strain of the virus in new cases and hospitalizations, in line with the nationwide trend. Arizona ranks sixteenth-highest in new cases as of Friday, dropping in the ranks significantly from its place 10 days ago as states like Florida, Louisiana and Arkansas struggle to contain the virus.

Gestson said in a video explaining the decision to require masks that the district teaches and trusts science and that this was a time when science had to supersede law, mandates and executive orders.

"For me personally, for us as a school system, this has been a very challenging decision on one hand," Gestson said. "On the other hand, we have said from day one that we will always prioritize the health and safety of our community even if that means we must stand in the face of some controversy."

In the statement on its mask policy, Phoenix Union said the district will discuss COVID-19 mitigation plans, including masks, at its Aug. 5 Governing Board meeting and will consider continuing the mask mandate until the CDC or other health agencies change their recommendations.

Ducey responded to the CDC's updated masking guidelines earlier this week by saying they diminished confidence in the vaccine, created challenges for public health officials and were a sign of the failure of the Biden-Harris administration to contain the virus. He also doubled down on his support of the laws passed barring mask mandates and proof of vaccination.

"Arizona does not allow mask mandates, vaccine mandates, vaccine passports or discrimination in schools based on who is or isn’t vaccinated," Ducey said in his Tuesday statement. "We’ve passed all of this into law, and it will not change."

Phoenix Union High School District's 22 schools have nearly 30,000 students and more than 4,000 employees.

Classes start Aug. 2.

Republic reporters Alison Steinbach and Yana Kunichoff contributed to this article.