BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – The mask battle with the Florida Department of Education is expected to come up at tonight’s school board meeting, according to Brevard Public School Board Chair Misty Belford.
“It’s an incredibly complicated issue with lots of nuances, and we could probably sit down and have an hour long conversation and still not cover all the nuances of the challenges that were facing in the current situation,” Belford said.
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The district said they have not yet received a letter following their meeting with the State Board of Education last week.
“We’re waiting on the letter. Our understanding is that we would have 48 hours after we received a letter to respond, as to how we are in compliance, and so there’s a lot of unknowns still,” Belford said.
Belford added they need the letter before they can determine what the next step will be.
Orange County Public Schools is also up against the Florida Department of Education for implementing a universal mask mandate.
While both districts await their letters from the state, Orange County put out a message that maintains masking is the best course of action.
Last week, Brevard County Public Schools adjusted their mask policy to allow a parental opt-out option, if community spread dips to 50 cases per 100,000.
“The other thing that I would remind our public is we set a threshold at 50 cases per 100,000 over a 7-day period. Last week, (per) the DOH, we were at 83. So we are getting closer and closer to that, and it may become a moot issue,” Belford said.