Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent George Arlotto recommended on February 16, 2022 to lift the mask mandate, for both staff and students. There are a certain number of requirements that a school district must meet in order to qualify to remove the mask mandate. Some of these requirements are 80% county wide vaccination rate and 14 consecutive days of low or moderate transmission rates. In order to lift the mandate, a given county must meet at least one of these requirements. In light of AAC having an 80% vaccination rate, Superintendent Arlotto recommended that the mandate be lifted. With the board meeting Wednesday night, February 16, the board voted to lift the mask requirement. Masks are now optional, starting Friday.