Arizona State Requires Masks | Inside Higher Ed

Arizona State University said Wednesday that it would require face coverings in all classroom and labs and some other indoor settings, a policy that may contradict a state law, the Arizona Republic reported.

But an ASU spokesman said the college believes its policy is in compliance with the law, which says that public universities or community colleges can’t “place any conditions on attendance or participation in classes or academic activities, including mandatory testing or face covering usage, if the person chooses not to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine or disclose whether the person has been vaccinated against COVID-19.”

“Unlike the legislation applicable to K-12 districts, neither the governor’s order nor the legislation applicable to the universities prohibits a mask mandate,” Jay Thorne, ASU’s spokesman, told the newspaper. “Instead, it prohibits the universities from either requiring vaccinations or imposing different requirements on students to attend classes (such as masking or testing) based on the student’s vaccination status or willingness to disclose that status.”

University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins said earlier this week that the university would have required vaccines and masks if state law allowed it.