Masks Will Be Optional Next School Year In Miami-Dade
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami-Dade County Public Schools has made a decision about masks.
Masks remain mandatory indoors for the rest of this school year. However, they will be optional for outdoor activities.
The announcement didn't sit well with United Teachers of Dade President Karla Hernandez-Mats.
"Our educators believe it would be more prudent and less disruptive to have our students continue wearing face masks on our school campuses. As we wrap up the school year and children are already in the habit of following safety protocols, regardless of their location or activity, wearing face masks continues to provide another layer of protection," read a portion of her statement. "Young children, who are also not yet eligible for the vaccine and have a harder time staying socially distant, are much more prone to losing items such as a mask during times of recess, which would then present unnecessary challenges and additional stress to our teachers and staff upon them needing to reenter our buildings and classrooms."
And while her comments focused on the remainder of this school year, MDCPS is already looking ahead.
The district also announced that masks will be optional indoors and outdoors for next school year.
The decision was announced after Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho met with the district's health advisors late Tuesday afternoon.
A decision about summer school has not been made yet.
As for Broward, the school district has not made a decision about masks yet, and that has some parents upset.
They protested outside of the Broward County School Board Tuesday, demanding children be unmasked while at school.
The protesters cited the recent executive order from Gov. Ron DeSantis relaxing the majority of COVID-19 restrictions across the state.
"The governor has issues an executive order. It's being ignored by these people here. They need to obey the law. They expect parents to obey the law but they're lawless," said demonstrator Gabriel Carrera.
