Some students in Massachusetts will be headed to school today without their masks for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to CBS 12 in Providence, the statewide mask requirement for K-12 schools in Massachusetts has been officially lifted. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education formally made the announcement earlier this month. While masks are optional at the statewide level, DESE said school districts can still establish a local requirement.

More than a dozen school districts in southeastern Massachusetts are adopting the state guidance and making masks optional including Attleboro, Dartmouth, and New Bedford. The Fall River school committee has voted to keep masks in place through March 14.

In Rhode Island, masks will be required through March 4 and after that, it's up to schools to decide how to move forward.