Florida education commissioner tells schools to make masks optional for 2021-22 school year

Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran issued a letter Wednesday telling school districts to amend their mask policies for the 2021-2022 school year to make masks optional.

The Department of Education reviewed data from across the state and did not find a correlation between sweeping mask mandates and the presence of COVID-19 in schools, Corcoran said.

"The data shows us that districts' face covering policies do not impact the spread of the virus," Corcoran wrote, calling for more "surgical — not sweeping" policies.

Families should have the option of determining whether their child wears a face covering, Corcoran said. He added students with disabilities and those learning English are particularly impeded by the "one size fits all" mask policies and some families may have opted to pull their child out of school due to the mandate.

His letter closes with the request for "districts which currently are implementing a mandated face covering policy (to) revise their policy to be voluntary for the 2021-22 school year."

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Sarasota County School Board Chairwoman Shirley Brown said the commissioner's directive didn't change much.

"We were considering the same thing. It may not be necessary next year, but we would make it optional. It's on the agenda to discuss, even without his mandate," Brown said. "We have seen it isn't spreading as much inside the school as it is outside."

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Manatee County School Board Chairman Charlie Kennedy didn't appreciate the state dictating to local boards what they could and could not do, especially given Republicans' stated preference local control.

"This is useless virtue signaling anyway since most districts will no longer need mandatory mask policies in August if current trends continue," Kennedy said in an email. "I'm hoping to be done with ours after the last day of school in May."

Throughout the pandemic, Corcoran and Gov. Ron DeSantis have emphasized giving families the option when it comes to how they educate their children during the pandemic.

Follow Ryan McKinnon on Twitter: @JRMcKinnon.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Face masks optional at Florida schools next year, says commissioner