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ORLANDO, Fla .– Orange County public school leaders will implement a universal school masking policy for all students and staff, with exceptions for medical exemptions, starting next week.
The decision came after a long and often confusing discussion about legal aspects, district policies and the type of mandate to be implemented.
READ: Celebration K-8 closed for rest of week due to COVID-19
Although a targeted approach to school-by-school masking was initially popular, based on transmission rates within county or individual schools, board members decided it would be too chaotic for families to follow.
“[Doctors are] begging us to lower those numbers just so we can have a normal school year, ”board member Angie Gallo said, citing research that has shown masks to be effective in reducing rates of COVID transmission. She reiterated her typical opposition to warrants and said she looked forward to eliminating masks again as soon as the number of cases allowed.
President Teresa Jacobs said that since the district planned to join Broward County schools and challenge Governor DeSantis’ anti-mask tenure rule as illegitimate law, the district would not break any valid law of the State by acting quickly.
“As a member of the school board, there is no motivation for me other than to keep our children and our employees safe,” said Jacobs. “It’s not about my salary.
READ: Herd immunity ‘practically impossible’ in Orange County at this point, health experts say
With the unanimous support of the board, the question was when the vote would take place and when the policy would take effect. Jacobs argued that the district’s current policy allows for immediate changes instead of requiring it to call an emergency meeting later this week.
Thus, Superintendent Barbara Jenkins was ordered to order the warrant. In turn, she recommended that it begin on Monday August 30 and last for two months, until October 30.
In the days leading up to the meeting, OCPS had recorded a record number of students testing positive for the virus. School administrators also said sick parents drop off their children and employees with ill husbands report to work.
So far, the district has not been forced to close entire buildings, although one or two classrooms have been closed, employees confirmed.
“I received six phone calls from my daughter’s school tonight,” complained a board member.
READ: Brevard County teachers’ union seeks changes in schools as COVID-19 cases continue to rise
The meeting had been well attended by parents and politicians representing both sides of the masking debate. A woman on the anti-masking side pointed out everywhere except at school that the mask was essentially optional. She also said she didn’t think the benefits of the masks outweighed the drawbacks to her daughter’s mental health and performance in class.
Council members disagreed.
“All of these things can be treated, but death from COVID cannot be treated,” one explained.
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Cox Media Group
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