School Mask Mandate Extended In Manatee County: Report

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — The Manatee County School Board extended its mask mandate for students and employees through late October. The mandate includes an opt-out option for families.

The school board originally approved a temporary 10-day mask mandate at a special meeting Aug. 16.

The board voted 3-2 Tuesday night to extend the mandate through Oct. 29 or until Manatee County’s new COVID-19 cases positivity rate falls below 8 percent, the Suncoast News Network reported.

The county’s positivity rate was 19.4 percent Aug. 13-19, according to the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 Weekly Situation Report for that period.

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Coronavirus cases are surging in the school district, which launched the 2021-22 school year Aug. 10.

Since the first day of school, there have been 1,003 COVID-19 cases among students and 187 for teachers and staff, according to the School District of Manatee County’s online COVID-19 dashboard. That’s more cases than were reported in all of the previous school year.

On Monday, the school district reported 196 new student cases, 30 new cases for teachers and staff, and 554 new students quarantined because of possible exposure.

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Chad Choate and Gina Messenger voted against the initial mask mandate, as well as Tuesday’s extension.

During Tuesday’s discussion of the mask mandate, school board chair Charlie Kennedy suggested making a face mask part of the dress code with only medical exemptions or optouts for ESE students, the Bradenton Herald reported.

The district’s attorney, Stephen Dye, shot down the idea because it would violate the Florida Department of Health’s emergency rule requiring school districts to have an opt-out for mask requirements.