How many students opted out of masks or went into quarantine? Here’s what we know

New numbers have shed light on school mask use and the impact of COVID-19 on classrooms in Manatee County.

As of noon Monday, at least 5,336 families chose to opt out of the School Board’s temporary mask mandate, with the most forms — nearly 2,300 — coming from elementary school parents.

And for the first time since school began on Aug. 10, the school district uploaded quarantine numbers to its public dashboard on Monday evening. The daily update included 141 new COVID-19 cases among staff and students, along with 411 people sent into quarantine for an exposure.

In a subsequent update on Tuesday evening, the district reported another 554 quarantines, bringing the two-day total to 965.

Based on guidance from the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County, the need for a quarantine depends on social distancing and whether the exposed person was wearing a mask.

In a recent email to a parent, Superintendent Cynthia Saunders cited the DOH and said that a mask-wearing person should quarantine if they stayed within 3 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes. The distance changes to 6 feet for someone not wearing a face covering.

And during a School Board meeting on Tuesday evening, the chief of staff for Manatee County schools, Kevin Chapman, said the 3-foot rule applies when both the infected person and the exposed person are wearing masks.

The new quarantines — 411 on Monday and 554 on Tuesday — reflect daily updates and not the total number of people sent home over the last two weeks of school. The Bradenton Herald made a records request for that data on Aug. 18 and had yet to receive documents as of Tuesday afternoon.

There have now been 964 COVID-19 cases in the schools — 157 among district employees and 807 among students — since the beginning of classes. After just three weeks, Manatee County schools and district offices are likely to surpass the 1,119 cases reported over both semesters in the previous school year.

And though the record-breaking numbers overwhelmed school administrators and teachers, district leaders said they aim to continue educating tens of thousands of students in spite of the pandemic.

To see a full listed of COVID-19 cases at local schools and district offices, visit manateeschools.net/covidDB.

Families opt-out of mask mandate

In response to questions from a reporter, district spokesman Mike Barber also provided the number of mask opt-outs on Monday, one week after the School Board passed a temporary mandate.

That mandate included an opt-out provision to meet a new rule authored by the Florida Department of Health and The Florida Department of Education. Both departments followed Gov. Ron DeSantis’ lead in pushing for voluntary mask use in the new school year.

As of Monday at noon, Barber said, traditional public schools recorded a total of 5,336 student opt-outs. For context, the district has just over 40,000 students in its traditional schools.

Barber’s statement also included a breakdown of opt-outs by grade level or campus:

• Total high school: 1,917.
• Total middle school: 1,032.
• Total elementary school: 2,287.
• Total at Horizons alternative school: 1.
• Total at Palm View K-8 and Johnson K-8 schools: 99.

It was possible, however, that even more students chose to forgo a mask in recent days. The district rolled out its online and in-person forms last Wednesday, and local schools were still working through the process this week.

If a student arrives at school without a mask and no opt-out on file, the school is supposed to make a face covering available, Barber said. Then, if the student refuses, the school should make contact with his or her family.

“If the parents say, ‘Yeah, I don’t want my kid wearing a mask,’ then that’s a verbal announcement to them,” he continued. “The school should mark that down as the parents’ preference.”

Barber also confirmed Tuesday that local schools had no defined punishment for students who ditch their mask.

“They don’t want to punish kids in regard to these mandates,” he said. “They want to work with them to make sure they’re following the wishes of their parents.”

During a meeting on Tuesday evening, the Manatee County School Board — including two members who originally voted against the mandate — were expected to discuss whether to renew the mask rule.

This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 1:30 PM.