- April 18, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Parents of students attending Volusia County Schools now have the opportunity to opt-out of the districts emergency mask mandate for students, a decision reached by the School Board in a 3-2 vote on Tuesday, Sept. 14.
School Board members Carl Persis and Ruben Colon voted against.
The matter came before the board after a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal placed a stay on a ruling by Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper, who found that the governor's executive order banning school districts from requiring students wear masks overstepped his constitutional authority, a ruling that was quickly appealed by the state. Parents involved in the legal battle now want the matter to be handled by the Florida Supreme Court.
“We all want to be good stewards of the law, but our children should not be utilized as pawns to prove a political point, no matter what that point is," said School Board Chair Linda Cuthbert, who voted in favor of letting parents opt-out of the district's face covering policy, though she stated several times it went against her belief that masks protect students.
She mentioned that a student walkout was scheduled last week at a local high school to protest masks, that students have been encouraged to wear shirts with anti-mask slogans and that teachers and principals have been harassed over the policy. A video of a mother causing a disturbance at Pathways Elementary over the policy was circulated on various social media sites.
“Our classrooms, our campuses, are not to be used as places of contention," Cuthbert said. "They are sacred ground. They are safe, learning environments for all.”
Some parents who spoke at the meeting disagreed with the board's decision to allow parents to opt-out of the policy. DeLand mother Elizabeth Atlee Hall told the board that when members of a community choose personal freedom, the community must rely on governing bodies to establish policies for the good of everyone. She didn't agree with the board backtracking on its stance because people refused to follow the policy. Previously, all students, with the exceptions of those in preK or ESE, had to wear a mask while on school grounds, unless they obtained a medical opt-out.
“I just think this is a mistake," Hall said. "We’re not giving it a chance. We have more cases now than we had all of last year combined and we’re just going to throw it all out.”
Others felt like the contention in the community rose from the board's decision to mandate masks in the first place. Christine Ortiz, a DeLand teacher and parent, said she had not had one COVID-19 case in her 41-student class, and none had been quarantined either, despite only about five students wearing a mask consistently.
“As a teacher, I am embarrassed about what is happening and the actions of the board turning faculty and staff against each other, causing division," Ortiz said."... As a parent, I am disappointed that you feel you know what is best for my children.”
Colon said that while COVID-19 cases are decreasing, there is still a high number of school-aged children contracting the virus. He warned parents that, based on the quarantining protocols the district adopted from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention, children who are exposed to COVID-19 and are not wearing a mask will be sent home to quarantine. Children who have been exposed but are wearing a mask will not.
“In the future when your child gets quarantined because they’re not wearing a mask, know that you accepted that risk as a parent, and that’s OK," Colon said. "… Nobody is picking on your child because this is very clear that if they are exposed they will be going home for five days until they come back negative, where a student who is wearing a mask will not be going home for five days.”
Parents who choose to opt-out of the policy can do so via their Parent Portal accounts, if they have signed up, where they may electronically complete the opt-out form. Parents can also print out a form at https://bit.ly/3Ch75D1
The employee and visitor mask policy will remain in effect until Oct. 15.
