Alachua, Duval among at least 4 counties moving forward with mask requirements in schools

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – At slightest 4 Florida schoolhouse districts are trying to enactment astir Gov. Ron DeSantis’ enforcement bid barring schoolhouse boards from requiring students to deterioration masks due to the fact that of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DeSantis past week issued an enforcement bid that, successful part, directed Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to withhold funds from “noncompliant” schoolhouse boards that enforce disguise requirements during the schoolhouse twelvemonth that starts successful a substance of days.

After DeSantis’ order, the schoolhouse districts successful Gadsden and Broward counties rapidly reversed plans to necessitate students to deterioration masks. But connected Wednesday, the Broward County School Board said connected its website that it was returning to a disguise requirement.

“In airy of the governor’s enforcement order, the territory is awaiting further guidance earlier rendering a determination connected the disguise mandate for the upcoming schoolhouse year. At this time, the district’s look covering policy, which requires the usage of masks successful territory schools and facilities, remains successful place,” the board’s updated guidance said.

Broward’s schoolhouse committee volition “discuss adjacent steps” during a gathering Tuesday.

Other districts this week began investigating however acold they tin spell to necessitate masks arsenic the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus rages successful Florida --- mounting up imaginable showdowns with Corcoran and the governor.

The Alachua County School Board voted Tuesday to necessitate students to deterioration masks during the archetypal 2 weeks of school, which would beryllium until Aug. 20. Under the policy, lone students with a “documented aesculapian information that prevents them from wearing a mask” could petition exemptions.

The Alachua committee volition re-evaluate the request during a gathering connected Aug. 17.

In Duval County, which has seen among the sharpest spikes successful COVID-19 cases, the school committee voted Tuesday to amend its pupil codification of behaviour to see a mask-wearing requirement. But dissimilar Alachua, Duval’s argumentation would not necessitate a aesculapian crushed for parents to petition their pupil beryllium exempted.

“Any pupil not wearing a disguise pursuant to this argumentation must, done his/her/their genitor oregon guardian, implicit the opt retired procedures provided by his/her/their assigned school,” the argumentation said.

Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna, meanwhile, is requesting that the politician supply flexibility for section power connected masks. Hanna sent a missive to DeSantis asking that the territory beryllium allowed to instrumentality a “temporary” disguise mandate for pre-kindergarten done eighth-grade students.

“I received connection implicit the play that we present person respective school-aged children successful our section hospitals. That is the game-changer for me,” Hanna said during a quality league Wednesday.

COVID-19 vaccines are not disposable for children nether property 12, which means astir children successful simple schools and galore successful mediate schools cannot get the shots.

“One size doesn’t acceptable each 67 counties and 2.6 cardinal students. Just arsenic you basal up for the sovereignty of the authorities of Florida from national mandates and enforcement orders, I excessively indispensable advocator connected behalf of my assemblage and my schoolhouse children,” Hanna wrote.

DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw didn’t straight reply a question from the The News Service of Florida astir whether Alachua and Duval boards are violating the governor’s bid with their updated rules. Pushaw said Wednesday that the authorities Department of Health and the Department of Education volition contented rules “to support parents’ state to take whether their children deterioration masks.”

“We are finalizing wellness and acquisition exigency rules this week that bash not prohibit masks successful schools but volition necessitate parents to person the close to opt their children out. School districts volition beryllium expected to let parents to marque this choice,” Pushaw said.

Hanna said Wednesday that DeSantis’ menace to withhold backing is “disappointing” and added that helium had not heard backmost from the politician since helium requested support of the impermanent disguise mandate.

“It’s conscionable disappointing, that rhetoric, that we can’t speech and enactment things out. But we’ll transverse that span erstwhile we travel to it,” Hanna said.

DeSantis’ propulsion to artifact section disguise mandates is drafting disapproval from President Joe Biden’s administration.

“If you are not going to beryllium a portion of the solution, if you are not going to beryllium a portion of redeeming people’s lives, past get retired of the mode and fto different radical bash the job,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a property briefing Tuesday. “That means don’t ban, don’t marque it harder for radical to enactment requirements connected masks, oregon asking for vaccination status, into law.”

As Florida districts reappraisal mask-wearing policies for students, immoderate person acceptable antithetic rules for adults connected campus.

Alachua schools, for example, are requiring masks for each territory employees, visitors and vendors who travel to campuses, citing “rapidly rising COVID cases successful the assemblage and among employees” of the district.

Duval, Leon and Broward schools besides are requiring masks for staff, visitors and vendors who travel to campuses.

The governor’s bid past week came aft the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidance to urge mask-wearing for each radical successful schools.

“The forced masking, it has harmed students,” DeSantis said during an lawsuit Friday successful Cape Coral. “The question is, shouldn’t this beryllium thing that the genitor is astatine champion to evaluate, the effect that this would person connected their children?”

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