FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — School Board of Broward County members voted 5-3 on Tuesday to make the use of face masks optional at public high schools starting Monday.
The school board will “strongly encourage” high school students to wear face masks on campus, but parents will be able to follow an opt-out process.
The universal indoor face mask mandate will remain the same at middle schools and elementary schools.
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on July 30th to ban face mask mandates.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that schools uphold universal face mask mandates on Aug. 4.
The Broward school board voted in favor of a face mask mandate on Aug. 12 and started to enforce it on Aug. 18.
Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran cut Broward public schools’ funding equal to the salaries of school board members.
President Joe Biden’s administration committed to using COVID-relief funding to help fill the gap.
The CDC recommends children who are 12 years and older get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not authorized it for children ages 5 to 11, but a panel voted in favor of the approval on Tuesday.
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