Not enough time to develop opt-out plan, Hillsborough superintendent says, so masks remain optional
TAMPA, Fla. - Hillsborough County’s superintendent says the school district will not mandate masks for students or staff amid the current COVID-19 spike, despite updated guidance from the state on how to do that.
"As we open the school year in a few days, we will strongly recommend masks in Hillsborough County Public Schools and make it optional," Addison Davis reiterated Friday. "But we will strongly recommend.
The Florida Department of Health issued new language Friday that states, in part, "students may wear masks or facial coverings as a mitigation measure; however, the school must allow for a parent or legal guardian of the student to opt-out the student from wearing a face covering or mask."
There was no mention in the state’s notice about the outright ban on mask mandates ordered by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which some districts are considering ignoring.
At least two Florida school districts say they will follow recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and require masks because of dramatic rises in coronavirus infections. Florida now leads the country in COVID-19 related hospitalizations.
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School boards in Duval County, home to Jacksonville, and Alachua County, home to Gainesville, decided this week to require mask-wearing indoors, citing the rise in hospitalizations.
The Duval County School Board is allowing parents to submit paperwork if they want their children not to wear masks, which is in line with the state’s new guidance.
Last week, DeSantis threatened to yank state funding from two districts after they discussed defying his ban on mask mandates.
Financially-strapped Hillsborough County can’t afford that, Davis said. And with classes in the nation’s eighth-largest school district resuming Tuesday, Davis said that simply wasn’t enough time to consider opt-out language that would meet state guidance.
"There’s a form that has to be developed, that information has to get to the community, you’ve got to communicate effectively, then you’ve got to have protocols put in place at the school level," Davis said. "And then what if we mandate it and a child doesn’t wear it? We get to a point where we’re gonna start sending kids home?"
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Davis said several members of the school board were ready to order a mask mandate, but other members opposed it.
He noted that no other local counties had mandated masks yet.
"I have talked to many superintendents across the state," he added. "They are all taking the same stance in Hillsborough County."