Topline Florida’s education commissioner directed superintendents Wednesday not to impose mask mandates in their districts next school year because he believes they’re now unnecessary, as schools across the country grapple with what to do about mask orders amid rising vaccinations—but not among children—and as state mask mandates are rescinded. Students at Hillsborough High School on August 31, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Octavio … [+] Jones/Getty Images) Getty Images Key Facts Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said schools should make mask-wearing voluntary in the 2021-2022 school year, saying in a memo he believes the mandatory orders “serve no remaining good at this point in our schools.” Corcoran pointed to data that said mask policies “do not impact the spread of the virus” and noted mask policies “may impede instruction” for some students, such as disabled students and those who do not have English as a first language. It will still ultimately be left up to districts to decide whether they want to impose mask mandates, and several districts told the Orlando Sentinel that while they would use the guidance in their consideration, they had still not yet decided on their policies for next year. Key Background Corcoran’s letter comes as school districts across the country are being left to determine what their mask policies should be, leading to a series of debates and even protests from parents on either side of the issue. Parents in Collier County, Florida, recently held a series of “unmask our children” protests as the county… Click below to read the full story from Forbes
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Florida Education Commissioner Tells Schools To Drop Mask Mandates: ‘They Serve No Remaining Good’
