Although Colorado Springs Charter Academy (CSCA) required masks for all students during the last school year, masks will not be required for students in the upcoming school year. Masks shouldn’t be required for students at other Colorado schools either, as they are neither necessary for children, nor ideal.

Also read: COUNTERPOINT | Mask up due to the unvaccinated

Last summer we had initial data on the very low risk of children contracting COVID and having serious symptoms; however, because the data was limited, the conclusions were tentative. We therefore implemented comprehensive initiatives at CSCA to combat COVID, which kept students and staff safe, minimized quarantining, and allowed us to have full-day, in-person learning five days a week.

The data over the past year confirmed that children are at a much lower risk of contracting COVID. Children under the age of 10 make up 11.6% of Colorado’s population, yet only account for 4.7% of all COVID cases, by far the largest gap of any other age group (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment). Keep in mind that during this whole time, Colorado’s mask mandate didn’t apply to students 11 years old and younger.

The data also confirmed the extremely low risk of serious illness or death for children with COVID. Of the 897 deaths in El Paso County, there has not been even one fatality among children younger than 10 years old (El Paso County Public Health). Nationally, 99.94% of COVID fatalities occurred in populations 18 years and older (Centers for Disease Control). Preliminary studies suggest the number of fatalities in children attributed to COVID would be even lower if each was researched to determine whether it was primarily caused by a pre-existing condition.

“COVID-19 and the flu in children have ‘the same kind of morbidity,'” says Jennifer Lighter, a Pediatric Infectious Disease doctor at New York University, in a recent Washington Post article. Several studies on the matter have come to similar conclusions.

Not only are masks for children not necessary; they are also not ideal. This past year at CSCA, I received communication from many concerned parents regarding negative effects their children experienced due to daily mask wearing. I personally had conversations with some of these students about their concerns. Some common issues included migraines and breathing difficulty, which affected attendance, participation, concentration, and behavior.

These issues didn’t exist before the mask mandate and were no longer present after the school year. One CSCA parent shared the following with me: “My son started having migraines on a regular basis and missed school on many occasions. Our pediatrician diagnosed the migraines, and we had to medicate him to prevent the headaches. Once the school year and need for consistent mask wearing ended, the migraines did also, and we have successfully tapered off the medication.”

Many parents also expressed concerns they had about potential long-term negative effects (which may not be apparent for several years) of children wearing masks.

As we stand today, our current circumstances do not warrant a school mask mandate. CSCA will continue to be prudent and cautious and will adhere to state mandates. There are times and circumstances for sweeping actions, but this is not one of them. In this light, parents should have the choice to decide whether their child wears a mask.

Local, state, and national data is clear that children have a lower risk of contracting COVID and have extremely low risk of serious illness or death, with many equating it to flu morbidity. Older populations who are most vulnerable to COVID have access to the vaccine. If schools and districts look at the data and respect parental choice, I believe they will do what’s best for students and conclude that, with what we know today, there is no need for a mask mandate for students.

Dan Ajamian is the head of school at Colorado Springs Charter Academy, which was founded by parents and educators in 2005.