Field Trips, Volunteers, Visitors Suspended At Sarasota Schools

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — At the end of the first day of the 2021-22 school year for Sarasota County Schools, Dr. Brennan Asplen posted a video Tuesday announcing several temporary policy changes to minimize the spread of the coronavirus.

For the next 30 days, the school district has temporarily suspended field trips and non-essential volunteers and visitors at campuses “in an effort to minimize quarantining of students and staff and maximize high-quality instruction,” he said.

“Today marks the first day of school and as I visited many campuses around the district, I was truly excited to see students, administrators and teachers, masked and unmasked, eagerly engaging for a day of learning,” Asplen said. “However, over this past weekend, we have seen a daily increase in community spread with the COVID delta variant.”

The district will reevaluate this suspension of field trips and visitors in 30 days based on the community spread of coronavirus at that time, the superintendent added.

Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Sarasota newsletters and real-time email alerts.

Because Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order at the end of July making masks optional in Florida public schools, Sarasota County Schools can’t put a mask mandate in place for the new school year.

Face coverings are optional for all students and staff, but strongly encouraged for those who are unvaccinated, according to the district’s Return2Learn guide. Schools will have masks available for those who need one.

“We will mitigate the spread of the virus to the best of our ability within the guidelines set by the governor’s executive order 21-75 in which masks are optional for this school year,” Asplen said. “We strongly encourage those who are not eligible for a vaccination or who are unvaccinated to wear a face mask when indoors.”