Seminole County School Board to hold vote Tuesday on mask mandate
Seminole County School Board to hold vote Tuesday on mask mandate
Parents weighed in on the matter at a board meeting last month and things got heated.
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - The Seminole County School Board will vote Tuesday on whether to repeal its face mask mandate.
Parents weighed in on the matter at a board meeting last month and things got heated.
"You work for us! You work for us! You work for us!" parents shouted at the meeting.
RELATED: Seminole School District to vote on repealing mask mandate in June
Another parent claimed, "It’s no secret you don’t work for us, but for the teachers union. You’re supposed to do what’s right for our children. So protect them by taking these masks off."
There was even a woman escorted from the meeting after asking the superintendent if he was vaccinated and stating, "you look like President Biden up there wearing a mask when he's vaccinated."
However, a spokesperson for the Seminole County School Board explained that "we can't simply rescind it willy-nilly, automatically," and added that the board will do what is best for everyone. He said that the district is already in the process of possibly repealing the mandate.
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Orange County is also expected to vote next month on its mask mandate. They will decide on whether to make masks optional for the upcoming school year. The board met last week on the policy and things also got heated. In fact, they had to take recess twice just to settle down the crowd. One of those times because many were not wearing a mask, which went against the meeting rules.
"Parents should be the one to decide whether or not their child wears a mask or not," said one person in attendance. "Not a school board."
Orange County School Board to hold vote on if masks should be optional
FOX 35 reporter Dave Puglisi was at the Orange County School Board meeting Thursday as they considered the policy that would make masks optional for the upcoming school year. He said that things got heated.
However, other parents like Judi Hayes believe children under the age of 12 should still have to wear masks until vaccinations are available for them. Her youngest son has Down Syndrome, making him highly susceptible to the virus. She had to quit her job to home school him.
RELATED: Orange County School Board to hold vote on if masks should be optional
"Without that accommodation, we just won’t have kids with disabilities in school and that’s not acceptable," said Hayes.
The school board will take what they have heard and decide whether or not to make any changes to their current policy.
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