{"id":48301,"date":"2021-04-14T22:21:43","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T02:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=48301"},"modified":"2021-04-14T22:21:57","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T02:21:57","slug":"masks-should-be-voluntary-in-schools-in-the-fall-says-florida-education-commissioner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2021\/04\/masks-should-be-voluntary-in-schools-in-the-fall-says-florida-education-commissioner\/","title":{"rendered":"Masks should be voluntary in schools in the fall, says Florida education commissioner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran on Wednesday asked school superintendents to revise their school district\u2019s mask policy, if they have one, to be voluntary instead of mandatory for the 2021-22 school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-algori-pdf-viewer-block-algori-pdf-viewer\"><iframe class=\"wp-block-algori-pdf-viewer-block-algori-pdf-viewer-iframe\" src=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/algori-pdf-viewer\/dist\/web\/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Fthelehighacresgazette.com%2Fnews%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F04%2F502944284-Optional-Facemask-Policy-Memo.pdf\" style=\"width:600px;height:300px\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In a memo, Corcoran bolded and underlined reasons that he says are why districts should make masks voluntary: That data shows that districts\u2019 face-covering policies do not impact the spread of the coronavirus; that families and individuals should maintain their ability to make a decision unique to their circumstances; and that broad sweeping mandatory face-covering policies \u201cserve no remaining good at this point in our schools.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Corcoran-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-48303\" width=\"-314\" height=\"-176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Corcoran-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Corcoran-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Corcoran-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Corcoran.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Corcoran did not include any data to back up his claims in the letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Corcoran called the policy revision one of the surgical, instead of sweeping, decisions to mitigate \u201clarge-scale educational disruptions\u201d going into the next school year. He said masks may \u201cunintentionally create a barrier\u201d for students and families who would otherwise choose in-person instruction if such a policy were not in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also in bold and underlined: That masks may impede instruction for students with disabilities and English language learners who benefit from viewing a teacher\u2019s face and mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Corcoran also said he expected to see more students participate in face-to-face instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRight now, our schools are safer than the communities at large,\u201d Corcoran wrote. \u201cThis safety record should only increase next school year with the increased availability of vaccines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>United Teachers of Dade president Karla Hernandez-Mats said the union is looking forward to finally welcoming students back into schools, although she took issue with Corcoran\u2019s request to make masks voluntary, not mandatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHowever, even with an increasing number of people getting vaccinated, safety measures must continue to be implemented,\u201d she said in a statement Wednesday night. \u201cThe only way to safely and successfully reopen our schools is by following CDC guidelines, including the use of masks, handwashing, and socially distancing. Our priority will continue to be ensuring the health and safety of our students, teachers, and staff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Corcoran\u2019s memo to school superintendents mirrors Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 stance on local mask mandates during the pandemic. In March,&nbsp;DeSantis signed an executive order that wiped out fines imposed on people or businesses for violating COVID-19-related ordinances, including mask orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It follows a September executive order in which DeSantis ordered cities and counties to stop collecting fines and penalties on individuals for violating mask ordinances. The governor himself rarely used a mask during public events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran on Wednesday asked school superintendents to revise their school district\u2019s mask policy, if they have one, to be voluntary instead of mandatory for the 2021-22&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":48303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48301"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}