SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — Sarasota County school board members voted Tuesday night to repeal the district's emergency mask mandate.
Board members voted unanimously to no longer require students and staff wear masks even if the positivity rate within Sarasota County rises above 10 percent.
Originally, the school district's emergency policy did not require students and employees to wear face masks if the county's positivity rate was below 8 percent for three consecutive dates, according to data gathered by the Florida Department of Health.
Without the policy, Sarasota County Schools is now compliant with Florida's Board of Education which threatened to withhold salaries of school board members who implemented mask mandates.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this summer signed the "Parents' Bill of Rights," aimed at protecting caretakers' choices over a child's health and upbringing. In July, he signed an executive order that banned districts from enacting mask mandates.