BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2021 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Students returning to public school in Palm Beach County may be met with a new mask mandate when classes resume on August 10th. The mandate would be an about-face from the the “optional” policy that is currently in effect.
At issue: soaring COVID-19 numbers in Florida, largely related to the Delta variant. Sources tell BocaNewsNow.com that officials are considering a mandate in elementary and middle schools — where children are largely too young to receive the vaccine. Mask use, according to the sources, would remain optional at the high school level.
Sources tell BocaNewsNow.com that officials are considering a mandate in elementary and middle schools — where children are largely too young to receive the vaccine. Mask use, according to the sources, would remain optional at the high school level.
“We know there will be pushback,” said a senior official speaking with BocaNewsNow.com on the condition of anonymity, “but we have to make science-based decisions. It is clear that there will always be a contingent of people who believe COVID is fake. We don’t want the children of those people to get sick or die because of ignorance.”
Florida COVID infection rates have more than tripled in the past several weeks, with death counts again rising.
Palm Beach County School District Spokesperson Claudia Shea didn’t address specific claims that a mask mandate is imminent, but confirmed that the District reserves the right change its current “mask optional” policy.
“Optional is the current plan,” said Shea. ”That said, the District is closely monitoring COVID trends.”
There is no mask item on the agenda for the School Board’s July 21st meeting, where considerable time is expected to be spent on the selection process for a new superintendent. Current School District Superintendent Donald Fennoy submitted his resignation last week after three years on the job. He came under fire for his handling of COVID-19 — and the mask mandate.
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