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Most parents back mask mandates, but the states where GOP parents are most opposed aren't the ones we always hear about, according to a new Axios/Momentive poll. While plenty of attention has centered around debates around the public health measures in schools in states like Texas and Florida, the poll offers a glimpse at how much more widespread opposition is across the country. (Reed, 9/7)

During a Tuesday news conference, Cox was asked whether the state was giving mixed messages on mask-wearing. Cox tried to blame the political rancor surrounding the issue on both “anti-maskers” and what he referred to as “extreme maskers.” “Masks are not as effective as most of the pro-mask crowd are arguing,” Cox told reporters. “They’re just not.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that even fully vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors. The CDC has also advised masks be worn indoors for all teachers, staff and students at schools nationwide. (Schott, 9/3)

Billings Public Schools and the unions representing teachers and staff in the district signed off on a new memorandum of agreement last Friday that addresses masking requirements as well as some other issues related to COVID-19 in schools. The new MOA acknowledges the authority of the district's masking requirements and also lays out a series of agreements, including formation of a COVID advisory masking committee to advise Superintendent Greg Upham, and that a COVID Leave Bank will be set up so that union members can draw from it under certain circumstances before having to use sick days. The agreement replaces one signed in June which had included optional masking for union members. The new agreement will remain in effect until June 3, 2022. (Kordenbrock, 9/6)

A new study that examined the effects of mask-wearing on the spread of COVID-19 found that even partial adoption helps to limit the spread. The study, led by researchers at Stanford Medicine and Yale University, was a large-scale, randomized trial using 350,000 people from 600 villages in rural Bangladesh. Those living in villages were randomly assigned a number of interventions to promote the use of masks. Researchers found that those living in the villages with such interventions were around 11% less likely to develop COVID-19 than those who did not. The effectiveness increased to nearly 35% for people over 60 years old, according to Stanford Medicine. (Aitken, 9/3)