Mask defiance: Two school districts are now on record as defying the will of the state on mask mandates for students. On Monday, Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna announced that students in elementary and middle schools must wear masks when classes start Wednesday, and can only opt-out with a note from a parent that is also signed by a health professional. Alachua County school officials made the same stipulation when they announced their mask policy last weekend for all students. Both districts could face financial penalties for their decisions, which don’t conform to the language of the state rule that simply says the choice to opt-out is the parent’s alone. Christina Pushaw, a spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis, said the decisions “violate the spirit of the executive order.” She added that the threatened financial penalties for not complying would not target students, but could include withholding the salaries of superintendents and school board members. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Politico Florida. Orlando Sentinel. Tallahassee Democrat. USA Today Florida Network. WFSU. WTXL. Capitol News Service. Florida Politics. ABC News. Is the governor’s executive order even legal? Florida Phoenix. NPR. Numbers to watch in the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the Florida, the state that has the most children hospitalized because of the virus. News Service of Florida. Sun Sentinel. WESH.
Doors open today for many: School classrooms are open for business today in 44 of the state’s 67 school districts. Eleven more open Wednesday, and five on Thursday. Hopes in the spring that the 2021-2022 academic year would be a more traditional school year have been clouded by a recent surge in coronavirus infections around the state, driven by the Delta variant, and political fighting over face masks. Florida Times-Union. Bay News 9. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida Today. TCPalm. Florida Department of Education. Fort Myers News-Press. TCPalm. Bradenton Herald. Gainesville Sun. Northwest Florida Daily News. WPEC.
Around the state: More than 16,500 Hillsborough County students and about 4,700 in Duval County have turned in forms that allow them to opt-out of those districts’ face mask mandates, school board members in Broward and Brevard meet today to decide whether to amend their mandatory face mask policies, some parents in Lee County are refusing to complete the district’s opt-out form and will send them to school without masks anyway, the St. Johns County School Board will appeal a court ruling that the district violated a transgender student’s equal protection rights when it barred him from using the boys bathrooms, and two Palm Beach County schools reopen today after full rebuilds. Here are details about those stories and other developments from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: The district’s annual back-to-school event Aug. 13 has been moved from the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts to the newly renovated auditorium at Miami Senior High School because of concerns over the surge in coronavirus infections. Miami Herald.
Broward: School board members meet today to discuss whether to amend the district’s face mask policy, which currently calls for all students to wear face masks in schools at least until Labor Day. “If nothing else came in to play, I would say mandatory masks for the first couple of weeks, until we get a grip on the numbers and start to see how having 100 percent of our students back in school, how that affects the protocols that we have,” said school board member Debbi Hixon. The discussion comes as Gov. DeSantis has threatened to withhold the pay for superintendents and school board members in districts that require face masks and don’t allow parents to opt-out. WFOR.
Hillsborough: More than 16,500 parents have completed the district’s opt-out form so their children won’t have to wear masks when schools open today. That’s about 9 percent of the total student population. WTVT.
Orange: School and health officials issued updated quarantine protocols for students on Monday. Any student diagnosed with the coronavirus will quarantine for 10 days, but they can return at any time once they are symptom-free for 24 hours and test negative for the virus or have a note from their doctor. WKMG. WOFL. County officials are opening a third COVID-19 testing site, at Clarcona Elementary School in Apopka, because of high demand. The drive-through site opens Tuesday and will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. WKMG.
Palm Beach: Washington Elementary School in Riviera Beach and Addison Mizner Elementary in Boca Raton reopen today after undergoing full rebuilds. Both rebuilds were made possible after voters approved a 10-year, 1-cent extra sales tax in 2016 to cover repairs that had been put off for years. Washington was built in 1964 and Mizner in 1966. Washington principal Vernicka Murray hopes the new building will invigorate enrollment. The school can hold up to 600 students but in recent years has had under 200. Palm Beach Post. Tommy Cherry, a 16-year-old student at Suncoast High School, recently set a world record solving a cube — similar to a Rubik’s Cube — in 15.27 seconds. Blindfolded. He also holds the world record for solving a cube with his toes, in 26.13 seconds. Palm Beach Post.
Duval: School officials said they received 4,700 opt-out forms from parents who don’t want their children to wear masks in schools. That’s about 3.7 percent of the district’s 127,000 students. Today is the first day of school. Florida Times-Union. WJXT. WJAX.
Pinellas: With a majority of school board members indicating at a workshop meeting Monday that they weren’t interested in changing the district’s mask-optional policy, Superintendent Michael Grego chose to keep it. He said he saw no difference in having masks optional or mandating them with parents allowed to opt-out, but that the opt-out paperwork would “drive teachers crazy.” Schools open Wednesday. Tampa Bay Times. WUSF. Florida Politics. WTSP.
Lee: Some parents are refusing to complete the district’s opt-out form required so their children don’t have to wear masks in schools and will send them to school without masks. Tara Jenner is one. She said there shouldn’t be a form for something Gov. DeSantis already approved. “(The school district is) getting them to ask permission for something that is a right, and you do not need to have permission to have a right,” said Jenner. WFTX.
Brevard: Students start school today with a mask-optional policy, but that could change when the school board meets tonight. Board member Jennifer Jenkins is asking the board to reinstate the policy it had during the last school year, which was mandatory mask use in schools. “People think I’m insane, but I absolutely think it’s going to be a 5-0 vote in favor,” Jenkins said. “All of the excuses that (other board members) tried to dig into really, really hard last time don’t exist anymore, so I don’t know what they can come up with to defend a ‘no’ vote at this point.” She said if that doesn’t pass, she could support a mandatory mask policy that would give parents the right to opt-out. Florida Today.
Manatee, Sarasota: After listening to four hours of comments from parents concerned for the safety of their children and those who oppose mask mandates, school board members chose to make no changes in the current policy that makes masks optional for students. Board member Gina Messenger said any mandate with an opt-out choice is essentially no different from the optional policy. “I don’t think anybody up here has to have an opinion on masks at all,” she said to other board members. “I don’t think you have to be for them or against them. We have to follow what’s in front of us. That’s not an emotional decision.” Bradenton Herald. Florida Politics. WUSF. Parents are protesting the Diocese of Venice’s decision to require 5,000 students to wear face masks in its 15 schools. But they’re not getting support from state Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, who is the chairman of the state Republican party. “Listen, it’s a private organization. At private schools you have the ability to go in and go out. At public schools for a lot of people it’s their only option.” Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Charlotte Sun. Fort Myers News-Press.
St. Johns: The school board is asking a federal appears court to reconsider a decision it made in July that concluded the district’s policy to bar a transgender male student from using the boys bathrooms was “arbitrary” and violated equal protection rights. A subset of the court’s judges ruled 2-1 in favor of Drew Adams, who was a student at Nease High School and decided to sue the board in 2017. The board’s appeal contends the two judges in the majority ignored broader issues about “whether a definition of sex founded in the real and enduring biological differences between boys and girls substantially advances the important privacy interests of students to use the bathroom free from members of the opposite biological sex,” and asks for the full court of 12 judges to rehear the case. News Service of Florida.
Leon: In addition to the mask mandate for K-8 students, Leon has established the following protocols for dealing with the coronavirus this school year: social distancing whenever possible, cleaning thoroughly, having everyone wash hands regularly, and continued contact tracing. The district is still consulting with health officials to settle on quarantine details. WTXL.
Santa Rosa: School officials released updated guidance from the state on how the district is expected to deal with students who are exposed to someone with COVID-19. They can return after four days with a negative coronavirus test, or after seven days if they are asymptomatic. Student who test positive or are showing symptoms can return after testing negative if they are asymptomatic, after 10 days if they have no fever and other symptoms are improving, or get written clearance from a health-care professional. WEAR.
Charlotte: When schools reopen today, all 25 of the school resource officers supplied by the sheriff will be wearing body cameras. “These cameras will not only help bring transparency and continue to build trust with our community but will also protect our staff,” said Sheriff Bill Prummell. Charlotte Sun. WINK.
Flagler: School officials said the state’s new rules on quarantining students have been updated and clarified by health officials, and their plan to use rapid-results COVID tests to cut down on time missed is back in place. Asymptomatic students and employees exposed to someone with the virus can get a rapid-results test after four days of quarantine and if it’s negative, can return to school. Flagler Live.
Nassau: Students are being “highly encouraged” to wear face masks when schools reopen today, but masks are not mandatory. Other safety measures include a carryover from last year of social distancing when possible, cleaning and other safety protocols. WJXT.
Jackson: Masks for students are encouraged but optional this school year, district officials said Monday. Cleaning protocols will be carried over from last year, and nonessential guests will not be allowed on campuses for now. WJHG.
Colleges and universities: Even with the surge in coronavirus cases, Florida’s state universities continue to plan for a more normal 2021-2022 school year. That includes making last year’s mask mandates optional this year and easing off on social distancing measures. Orlando Sentinel. Florida State University and University of South Florida officials said Monday they “expect” students and employees to wear face masks when the fall semester begins, whether they’re vaccinated or not. WCTV. WFLA. The University of North Florida is offering $100 in campus credits if they are vaccinated. WJXT.
Opinions on schools: The Alachua County School is willing to risk losing state funding by requiring students to wear masks in schools because it’s our duty to provide safe and high-quality public schools. Alachua Superintendent Carlee Simon, Washington Post. For the safety of our students, school districts in northeast Florida should require that everyone wear face masks in schools. Florida Times-Union. Physicians across Florida are are concerned about Florida’s children and their risk of COVID-19 infections, and we ask Gov. DeSantis to repeal his reckless executive order and allow and encourage local school districts to implement safeguards such as mask-wearing that can minimize COVID-19 spread. A letter from Florida doctors to the governor, Tampa Bay Times. Many states have taken bold action to give families more control over the education of their children, and religious or not, that is an important advantage in the competition for talent and industry. Matthew Ladner, redefinED. As schools are about to reopen, adults must take care to notice signs of mental health pressures in children, and get them help before those pressures become a crisis. Florida Times-Union. A 21st-century education is not a single “school system” that locks every family into an arbitrary, geographical assignment. Rather, it’s a “system of schools” that puts every child at the center and allows their parents to decide where and how they learn. So it is unconscionable that some lawmakers in Washington are considering cuts to public charter schools, which enroll more than 300,000 Florida students and 3 million nationally. Gary Chartrand, Florida Times-Union.
