The final step was taken Friday to make face mask mandates in schools a local decision.|| COVID-19 updates | Maryland's latest numbers | Get tested | Vaccine Info ||The General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review voted Friday afternoon to lift the statewide school mask mandate. The vote was 17 for, one against and one absent.The vote comes four days after the Maryland state Board of Education voted to make masking a local issue, and it comes more than six months after the state imposed an emergency face mask mandate.The committee's vote makes the decision final and local school district can set their own policy.As of Friday, here's where the Baltimore-area school districts stand:Anne Arundel County: Masks have been optional since Feb. 18Baltimore City: Decision pendingBaltimore County: Masks optional starting TuesdayCarroll County: Mask-optional policy takes effect immediatelyCecil County: Mask-optional policy takes effect immediatelyHarford County: Decision pending its next board meetingHoward County: Masks optional starting TuesdayThe University of Maryland, College Park, announced it's lifting its indoor mask mandate Monday, following guidance from Prince George's County and the state, and after significant declines in COVID-19 metrics. There are some exceptions.Also Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for face masks.| RELATED: Many healthy Americans can take a break from masks, the CDC announcesImproved vaccination numbers, COVID-19 metrics fueled decisionMaryland state school Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury urged state lawmakers to do away with the masking regulation."I am coming here to end the regulation early because I think the conditions are right and it did what it needed to do," Choudhury said, speaking Friday afternoon before the AELR.Lawmakers also heard an hour of testimony from students and parents."When I graduate with my class in June, I want to be able to walk across the stage mask-free, smiling over the accomplishments I have made over the past 13 years of education," said Liliana Norkaitis, a Harford County student."It's not easy being the only child in a class wearing a mask, and it shouldn't be my 6-year-old's responsibility to keep her little sister safe. That's my job and your job," said Jennifer Weiner, a Carroll County parent."If this emergency regulation is withdrawn early, it will create an unsafe environment for many Maryland students and exclude some students with disabilities from attending school," said Megan Collins, a Carroll County parent.One lawmaker said no school district should feel pressured to do away with their current masking policies."They're being allowed by this regulation to do what they feel is best, and we are supporting them in that effort," said Montgomery County Delegate Kirill Reznik, D-District 39.The state Board of Education's change of heart came after closed-door meetings and an improvement in vaccination numbers across the state.The action comes more than a week after Gov. Larry Hogan sought to have the board rescind its statewide school face mask policy.