TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida is now looking to more permanently ban school mask mandates that don't have an opt-out option for parents, as the state simultaneously wages its court battle with local districts over an emergency version of the anti-mandate policy.
Earlier this month, six school boards had cried foul, arguing the state didn't go through the proper rulemaking process with its current – albeit temporary – emergency ban on mandates. They say the public wasn't alerted or given the chance to weigh in before the emergency measures were adopted.
The state's current emergency rule, which was updated on Sept. 22, lets parents opt their kids out of school mask policies. It also ensures students can still attend class in-person if they've been exposed to COVID-19, so long as they don't have symptoms.
Such emergency rules aren't supposed to be in place for more than 90 days in Florida. So, on Friday, a new long-term rule proposal was filed in the Florida Administrative Register – with the hope of making the state's anti-mandate policy more permanent.
Jim Saunders, of the News Service of Florida, was first to report on the development, which was confirmed in a formal document obtained by 10 Tampa Bay.
Like the emergency version, the proposed long-term rule would allow school districts to adopt student mask requirements, as long as they allow parents or guardians the chance to opt-out their kids. The long-term version would continue letting asymptomatic students who were exposed to COVID, but have not tested positive themselves, attend school activities as long as they don't develop symptoms.
Dr. Carina Blackmore, the state's director for the Division of Disease Control and Health Protection, is listed in the paperwork as the person who developed the long-term proposal. It was approved on Wednesday by Florida's new Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo.
If requested within 21 days of Friday's filing, a hearing will be scheduled on the proposed rule.