Masks (non-medical covering or cloth) are a recommended barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from traveling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the mask coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice. Masks are an example of source control.
The role of the school nurse is to advocate for appropriate and consistent use of masks when students, teachers, and staff are indoors and when social distancing of at least 6 feet is difficult to implement or maintain.
Key Considerations:
- Masks with exhalation valves or vents are not recommended to be worn in school. This type of mask does not provide source control.
- Procedures for mask hygiene including
- Masks should not be shared or swapped between students or staff.
- Procedures for safely storing masks when not being worn (e.g., in individually labeled containers or bags, personal lockers, or cubbies).
- Labeling masks to identify ownership.
- Educating individuals to wash masks after every day of use and/or before being used again, or if visibly soiled.
- Providing additional masks for students and teachers as needed.
- Instances when a mask should not be worn (e.g. younger than 2 years old, has trouble breathing, unconscious, high intensity activities, etc).
- Instances when appropriate and consistent use of a mask may be challenging (e.g. younger students, individuals with breathing difficulties, individuals with special healthcare needs, etc).
Instances when teachers and staff may consider using a clear mask (e.g. interacting with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, individuals in English as a second language class, etc).
- Applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, ordinances, and other sources of authority, including district and school policies and procedures, and applicable standards of practice.
NASN Resources
Guidance for Healthcare Personnel on the Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Schools During COVID-19
Return to School Video Series
CDC Resources
How to Safely Wear and Take off a Mask Print Resource
Guidance for K-12 School Administrators for Masks in Schools
Use Masks to Slow the Spread of COVID-19
How to Wear Masks
How to Store and Wash Masks
Additional Considerations for the Use of Masks Among K-12 Students
Considerations for Wearing Masks
Other Resources
Cloth Face Coverings | American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
COVID-19: Proper Use, Reuse And Disposal Of Masks, Verified By Experts | BoldSky Limitless Living
How to Safely Sanitize Every Type of Face Mask | Healthline
Autoclaving, Alcohol not the Best Options for Disinfecting, Reusing Face Masks | University of Cincinnati
Fact check: Wearing a face mask will not cause hypoxia, hypoxemia or hypercapnia | USA Today
Should Kids Wear Face Masks? We Asked a Pediatrician | Los Angeles Times
Low-Cost Measurement of Face Mask Efficacy for Filtering Expelled Droplets During Speech | Science Advances
Resources Shared by School Nurses
See what school nurses have developed or are sharing in NASN's online discussions.