With school starting this week, Pinellas and Manatee leaders decide against mask mandates
BRADENTON, Fla. - Florida continues to set new single-day records for positive COVID-19 infections, including more than 28,000 announced Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With cases continuing to spread rapidly across the Bay Area, thousands of parents have turned the pressure up on their school boards to reinstate mask mandates in schools.
On Monday, the Manatee and Pinellas school boards met to discuss potential mask requirements for students. Manatee County is less than 24 hours from the start of its school year. Pinellas County schools welcome students back on Wednesday.
Manatee County School Board Member Rev. James Golden said he wants elementary school parents surveyed about whether they want their kids separated into masked and unmasked classrooms.
"I'd like to craft something to avoid a confrontation with the governor," Golden said.
And Governor DeSantis isn't just standing firm on his mask mandate ban. He's upping the ante on potential punishments for violators. He says the state could withhold funding from districts and salaries from superintendents and board members.
This comes as district leaders grapple with how to handle the surge in cases.
RELATED: 9 percent of Hillsborough students have opted out of wearing masks
Two weeks ago, Governor Ron DeSantis passed an executive order prohibiting school districts from requiring masks in school. Districts that defy the order could have hundreds of millions in state funding pulled.
Mandatory masks at Hillsborough County Schools
With three days to go before the start of school, the Hillsborough School District reversed its policy and now says masks will be required in schools - but parents will also have a choice. FOX 13's Dan Matics explains the decision.
Manatee and Pinellas districts debated doing the same as Hillsborough but ultimately decided on no change -- meaning, no mask requirement at all.
"So no opt-in, opt-out, but rather, let's have some really intelligent conversations between parents and students," Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Grego said.
RELATED: Masks mandatory for Hillsborough County students, parents can opt-out
Several districts have passed new mask rules anyway. Some, including Duval and Hillsborough, have found creative workarounds that they say will protect themselves from penalty. Duval and Hillsborough counties will require masks for all students unless a parent notifies the school district that their child is opting out of the requirement.
Thousands of Pinellas County parents are asking their district to do the same. A change.org petition calling for an emergency meeting on masks has garnered more than 2,500 signatures.
RELATED: Some Florida school districts look to move forward with masks, despite governor's order
Lawsuit challenges DeSantis' ban on mask mandates
Meanwhile, Florida’s Board of Education approved an emergency rule Friday that will allow private school vouchers if parents feel their children are being harassed by a school district’s COVID safety policies, including mask requirements.
"We’re asking for brave leadership from the school board to actually step up and work for our kids and do what's right to keep them safe," said Brad Rosenheim, a Pinellas County parent and author of the petition. "I have not heard of any single child that has been hospitalized due to the use of masks, but I have heard of many children that have being hospitalized now because they're catching COVID."
RELATED: Chance of hospitalization, death less than 0.01% for fully vaccinated, data shows
Broward and Leon counties have also announced new mask requirements. In response, the state Board of Education on Friday passed a new rule giving parents the right to pull their kids out of public school and apply for private school vouchers if their kids are suffering from "COVID-19 harassment."
The state has defined COVID-19 harassment as suffering because of things like mask requirements, policies that separate students if they decide to go maskless, or COVID-19 testing requirements.