Parents Set For FL Mask Mandate Showdown As 1st School Day Nears

TAMPA BAY, FL — As schools prepare to open their doors to students next week, parents are headed for a showdown over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' executive order prohibiting public schools from requiring face masks.

DeSantis' order came down July 30, two days after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky announced that the surge in coronavirus rates due to the delta variant prompted the CDC to reverse its recommendation on the wearing of masks indoors.

Walensky said the CDC now recommends that all students wear masks in schools, particularly elementary school students age 11 and under who are ineligible to get the coronavirus vaccination.

Walensky's recommendation has been seconded by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other national health care organizations.

Bolstering the CDC's case for masks, Florida reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the state's highest one-day total since the pandemic began. Florida now accounts for a fifth of all new cases in the United States, with a majority of the illnesses caused by the delta variant of the virus.

In light of the recent coronavirus surge, some Florida hospitals announced they are suspending elective surgeries and placing limits on visits. Meanwhile, theme parks, cruise lines, big box stores and grocery stores have resumed requiring employees and customers to wear masks.

"We have responsible businesses looking at the safety of their customers and employees, and making the responsible decision to protect them by requiring masks based on the recommendation of health experts," said Joshua Shulman, who has a 10-year-old son attending a Pinellas County public school. "Shouldn't our schools be doing the same thing?"

A contingent of concerned Pinellas County parents launched a petition drive signed by 1,109 parents along with an email-writing campaign to the school board requesting the board hold an emergency meeting to discuss either imposing a mask mandate or delaying the start of school until the state's coronavirus rates stabilize.

The last Pinellas County School Board meeting was July 27, prior to DeSantis' order. School starts Aug. 11, and the next regular school board meeting isn't until Aug. 24, Shulman noted.

"There are currently three board members who are in favor of holding an emergency meeting," Shulman told Patch. "The remaining four members have gone into hiding and will not respond to phone calls or emails as to why they will not allow the board to meet to hear and address parental concerns."

Hillsborough County parents fearful for the safety of their kids are making similar requests of their school board.

Hillsborough County parent Debra Setzer has launched a petition drive that has garnered 4,104 signatures calling on the Hillsborough County School Board to institute a mask mandate for all students, teachers, staff and visitors.

"With no vaccine currently available for our younger children and the continued spread of the highly transmissible delta variant, the risk to our children is now higher than it was last fall," Setzer said. "The delta variant is approximately twice as transmissible as the original virus. We must do more to protect our children."

Even before DeSantis' order, both the Hillsborough and Pinellas school districts announced their intention to make masks voluntary this school year. But Shulman said those decisions were made in June before the delta variant swept the state.

"The Florida Constitution requires the state to provide a safe and high-quality free education to all Floridians," Shulman said. "Putting kids into an environment that risks their health is not safe. The Florida Constitution supercedes an executive order."

Several Florida school boards have announced they will go against the governor's executive order and require face masks in school, including Duval, Leon and Alachua counties.

The Duval County School Board voted late Tuesday to require students to wear masks unless parents submit paperwork to opt out.

The Alachua County School Board voted to require masks for the first two weeks of school, adding that the decision will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna held a news conference Wednesday declaring his intention to implement a temporary student mask mandate through the end of August.

Masks in school have been a contentious subject at school board meetings for the past several months, pitting parents against one another — and sometimes student against student.

"I do not like masks because they distract me and sometimes they even poke me in the eye," first grader Emma Bonnano told the Hillsborough County School Board. "They make it really hot and hard to breathe. Masks make it hard to understand my teacher and I can’t focus well. None of my friends have had COVID because kids don’t really get or spread COVID."

In a survey of parents conducted by the Hillsborough school district in May, 53 percent of the 31,844 parents responding said they do not want children, staff and visitors to be required to wear masks.

However, following the CDC's revised guidance last week, a Monmouth University poll released Monday shows 52 percent of American are now in favor of reinstating mask mandates.

"No one likes wearing masks, and I understand there are parents who don’t want their kids to wear masks. But kids are adaptable. They wore masks all last year and the overwhelming majority did OK," Shulman said. "I'm not an expert. I rely on the experts to apply their knowledge and make recommendations, and the health professionals are telling us that wearing masks is the right thing to do."

School board members, however, say their backs are up against the wall. If they don't abide by DeSantis' executive order, they risk losing state funds, which make up the majority of funds school districts need to operate.

DeSantis didn't address withholding funding from schools during a news conference Thursday at Tampa General Hospital but did say that his executive order is based on a parental bill of rights passed by the Florida Legislature in the 2021 session, and school board cannot override it.

"We laid down the law in the state of Florida that parents have the fundamental right to raise their children, the health and well-being, and that has to be respected by all levels of government and so it's our belief that this should be a parent's choice and I think we'll end up winning," DeSantis said. "At the end of the day, as a parent, I would like that choice and many of these kids have recovered from COVID, so there's really no scientific justification."

He said the CDC and other health organizations have had plenty of time to study the emotional, academic and physiological impact of masks on children, and he's yet to see a published study.

"What are the harmful effects of putting a kid in a mask for seven hours? Why isn't the CDC studying that?" he said. "I think the fairest thing to do is just let the parent make the decision."

See related stories:

• Florida Posts Record Number Of New Coronavirus Cases: CDC
• CDC Recommends Mask In All Schools; DeSantis Will Fight Mandate
• DeSantis To School Boards: You Better Not Mandate Masking Kids
• Tampa Bay Hospitals Sound Alarm With Wave Of Delta Variant Cases
• Many Patch Readers Concerned About FL's COVID Surge: Survey
• If Governor Won't Release COVID-19 Reports, Nikki Fried Will
• Face Masks Required Again For All Walt Disney World Guests