The mask mandate in Manatee County schools is set to expire. Here’s what happens next
Face coverings will soon be completely optional in the Manatee County School District.
The School Board’s mask requirement, which included an opt-out clause for students and affected all public schools and district buildings, is set to expire Friday, the same day that board members are scheduled to meet.
And the meeting on Friday is a workshop, meaning no motions or votes can take place. The board could hold a discussion on the expiring mandate, but as of Thursday afternoon, the agenda included only two topics — neither related to masks.
If a board member were to push for an extended mask mandate, any official action would have to wait until the board’s next regular meeting in November.
But there was no indication that board members favored a continued mandate.
In August, the School Board narrowly passed a motion by Vice Chair James Golden to extend an existing mask mandate through Oct. 29. The board members voted 3-2, with Gina Messenger and Chad Choate dissenting, to continue the requirement.
The board chair, Charlie Kennedy, cast one of the essential yes votes at that time.
On Thursday morning, Kennedy said he would no longer support a motion to continue the mask requirement. And such a motion, he said, was unlikely now that COVID-19 infections are down in schools and the surrounding community.
“We still have to be careful when we can, but we’re just in a much safer environment now,” Kennedy continued.
Pandemic takes a promising turn
The School Board put its mask mandate into place last August, after local classrooms and school district offices endured record-breaking COVID-19 numbers.
The school district recorded 1,190 COVID cases during the first two weeks of classes — quickly exceeding the 1,119 cases recorded over two semesters last school year.
It became common for the district to report more than 100 new daily cases on its public dashboard.
But that number has dropped considerably in recent weeks. On Wednesday, the most recent update, the school district reported just one new COVID-19 case affecting a district employee.
Hopeful signs are also appearing in the surrounding community. Dr. Jennifer Bencie, head of the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County, has continually said that Manatee County should strive for a seven-day positivity rate of 5% or less.
The most recent county rate met that target at 3.61%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency’s COVID Data Tracker also reported that 62.7% of eligible Manatee County residents are fully vaccinated — a protection might soon be available to the county’s younger students.
Currently, only students 12 and older can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, but on Tuesday a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously, with one abstention, to endorse a smaller version of the Pfizer shot for kids ages 5-11.
The FDA was expected to make its own decision in the following days.
Some concerns remain
Even with a low positivity rate, the CDC said that, based on other data, Manatee County still had substantial transmission risk and that people should continue to wear masks in public indoor spaces.
And the CDC’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, recently said that her agency would continue to recommend masks in schools.
It was important, she said, to remain cautious as the winter holidays approach and the country works to increase pediatric vaccinations.
“As we head into these winter months, we know we cannot be complacent,” Walensky said, speaking during an Oct. 20 press briefing.
But in Florida, schools are largely unable to enforce existing mask mandates. Under pressure from Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state health department issued an emergency rule that allowed parents to opt their children out of school mask requirements.
Most school boards, including the one in Manatee County, followed suit and included the opt-out clause in their mandates.
The local teachers union, Manatee Education Association, also secured an agreement with the school district, ensuring that teachers and paraprofessionals are not bound to the mask mandate.
“It is understood that no teacher or paraprofessional will be disciplined for his/her decision regarding wearing or not wearing a mask while at work,” the agreement states.
The improving conditions in Manatee County, along with the inability to enforce mask mandates, all but guaranteed that Manatee’s mask requirement would silently expire on Friday.
To continue tracking daily COVID-19 cases, exposures and quarantines in Manatee County schools, visit manateeschools.net/covidDB.
For regular updates on covid in the community, visit covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker and click on “County View.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 2:32 PM with the headline "The mask mandate in Manatee County schools is set to expire. Here’s what happens next."