Tuesday night, late into a four-and-a-half hour meeting, the Osceola County School Board approved a mask mandate similar to one in place in Orange County that allows parents to opt-out their children in writing.
The motion passed by a 4-1 vote, with Board member Jon Arguello voting against.
The order, established as an emergency rule, will last for 30 school days, or through Oct. 4, and require students in elementary, middle and K-8 schools to wear masks beginning Monday (Aug. 23). Masks will remain optional on high school campuses, with the premise that 14 to 18-year-olds have the option to get vaccinated. As part of the motion, the Board will re-evaluate COVID-19 conditions at the end of the period.
In addition, it is "still highly recommended that all students wear masks when riding the school bus because social distancing is not practical in that setting," a district official said Thursday afternoon.
Teachers will not have the burden of enforcement.
Before the vote, Board Chairman Clarence Thacker made certain through board attorney Frank Kruppenbacher that Orange County has not come under fire from Tallahassee for its mandate that also features an opt-out.
Board members Julian Melendez and Terry Castillo led the discussion. Melendez stressed the move was his attempt to "do my best to protect students and families," and Castillo called it a way to mitigate the spread of coronavirus in school and not a way of taking sides.
"I've had much dialogue with people about what we can do to make our kids safer," Castillo said. "You might think it's political or controversial, but we have children to protect."
Board member Robert Bass noted the "terrible position" a mandate put the Board in. "Masks are so polarizing," he said, before voting for the motion. His concerns were proven during the 'hear the audience' portion of the meeting; before even knowing there'd be a mask mandate vote (it wasn't on the agenda), eight citizens spoke about masks, many very passionately. Five lobbied for a mask mandate, and three were against one.
