Parents for, against students wearing masks sound off at DCPS emergency meeting

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Hours of fiery statement involving doctors, parents and section leaders dominated a peculiar Duval County School Board gathering connected Monday arsenic the committee tried to determine whether oregon not to fortify its existent disguise argumentation for students.

Monday’s gathering was announced aft committee subordinate Darryl Willie asked for the exigency committee meeting. In a missive sent to Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene and committee seat Elizabeth Andersen, Willie said it’s clip to reevaluate the disguise argumentation owed to the expanding cases wrong schools.

As of 6 p.m., 4 hours into the meeting, nary determination connected the disguise argumentation had been made.

Public remark featured 68 speakers and passionate pleas from some sides. It was a tense gathering with Andersen having to archer the assemblage aggregate times to quiescent down.

“We person a work to support those who cannot support themselves,” said genitor Katie Wisner. “You person a work to marque the hard decisions to support our children and our community. Please, arsenic a parent, arsenic a mother, I plead and I impulse and I beg for you to perceive to the subject and the experts.”

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There was a beardown showing of parents who were afloat opposed to a disguise request and demanded that the committee permission the argumentation the mode it is, citing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order.

“If you mean to re-implement a disguise mandate, it is incumbent upon Duval County School Board to explicate to each of its stakeholders, wherefore masks are perfectly necessary,” said genitor LeeAnn Parker. “Prove to america that COVID infections volition beryllium lowered due to the fact that of a disguise mandate.”

Others including doctors, attorneys, parents and Duval County Public Schools staffers called connected the schoolhouse committee to reimplement the mandate from past twelvemonth oregon astatine slightest necessitate a doctor’s enactment to opt out.

Two Jacksonville doctors who person been astatine the forefront of educating the nationalist during the coronavirus pandemic were impermanent speakers astatine the meeting.

Dr. Mobeen Rathore, main of pediatric infectious illness astatine Wolfson Children’s Hospital, arsenic good arsenic Dr. Sunil Joshi, allergist, immunologist and president of the Duval County Medical Society Foundation, some person been outspoken successful their enactment for masks and vaccines.

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“We person to get implicit these inaccurate and overplayed thoughts that COVID-19 is an insignificant corruption successful children. That is simply not true,” said allergist and immunologist Dr. Sunil Joshi. “Most precocious the American Academy of Pediatrics noted that successful the play of May 2020 done July of 2021, astir 400 children died of COVID-19 successful the United States, that’s comparable to what we spot with the seasonal flu which we person a vaccine for, successful this case, children nether the property of 12 are not capable to get the vaccine.”

Rathore said determination are 7 children presently hospitalized successful Jacksonville with COVID-19 adding that much children were hospitalized successful Jacksonville successful July than immoderate different period since the commencement of the pandemic

The district’s existent argumentation powerfully recommends masks but allows an opt-out enactment for those who don’t privation to deterioration one. At the commencement of the schoolhouse year, much than 9,600 students oregon their parents took the opt out, astir 7.5% of the pupil population.

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“To date, we person a 4th of the cases (in 2 weeks) that we had the full 2020-21 schoolhouse year,” Willie wrote successful the letter. “Our students and employees are becoming sick with a life-threatening virus, and an exigency gathering is needed to sermon this information and change oregon alteration immoderate argumentation that could assistance mitigate these cases.”

Duval’s existent disguise argumentation falls successful enactment with an bid enactment successful spot by Gov. Ron DeSantis successful which helium banned disguise mandates that bash not let an opt retired enactment oregon that necessitate a doctor’s enactment to opt out.

“We bash cognize though determination are harmful effects of kids not being capable to breathe, spot facial expressions,” DeSantis said successful a erstwhile quality conference. “Clearly this is thing for the parents to do. For schools to travel successful and overrule parents’ rights and unit masks connected kindergartners, archetypal graders, 2nd graders -- that’s a monolithic overreach.”

People connected some sides of the pupil masking contented held a rally extracurricular the Duval County Public Schools gathering earlier the meeting.

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Elsewhere successful Florida, the Leon County superintendent announced Sunday that masks volition beryllium required for students successful prekindergarten done eighth grade, becoming the seventh territory to defy Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ prohibition connected specified COVID-19 mandates, The Associated Press reported.

The different districts that person imposed strict disguise mandates are successful Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Alachua and Sarasota counties.

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