STATEWIDE — Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran is telling school districts that currently have mask mandates to make what national health leaders consider protection, voluntary when the school year begins come fall.


What You Need To Know

  • He claims data shows that facemasks do not impact the spread of the virus

  • But he says that families should make a personal decision on their kids wearing them

  • However, the CDC says COVID transmissions at schools are low due to facemasks

Corcoran said after a thorough review, the data shows districts' face-covering policies do not impact the spread of the virus.

“Upon reviewing the policies of those districts with mandatory face covering policies, reviewing all districts relevant health data, and factoring in such data points as the percentage of students learning in-person and the relative population of a county (which is often synonymous with a county’s community health resources), the data shows us that districts’ face covering policies do not impact the spread of the virus,” he wrote in his letter Florida’s superintendents.

In his letter to superintendents across the state, Corcoran said face coverings are a personal decision and families should have the option to make the choice that works best for them.

Corcoran is telling superintendents that one-size-fits-all policies like this do not meet the unique needs of students and families.

Corcoran said after looking at policies of districts with face-covering mandates, all districts health data, and in-person learning versus county population, the Florida Department of Education does not feel masks are necessary.

He also said face-covering policies inhibit peer-to-peer learning.

In the letter to superintendents, Corcoran said "such policies may also impede instruction in certain cases, especially for students with disabilities and English-language learners who benefit from viewing a teacher's face and mouth."

The CDC stated coronavirus transmission in schools is low due to safety measures like mask-wearing.

Last month, the CDC reduced its social distancing guidelines in certain school settings from 6 feet to 3 feet as long as masks are universally used. 

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that decision is supported by the science and would help President Joe Biden's administration get to its goal of opening up more schools for in-person learning.

Spectrum News reached out to Central Florida School Districts for what they plan to do after Corcoran's new guidance.

The Board of Education's mask directive comes as some school districts have already decided to do away with e-learning in the fall, such as Pasco County.

In those counties, students will either have to enter the Florida virtual program or come back to brick-and-mortars.

Dr. Michael Muszynski, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, said schools have a done a good job managing COVID-19 case numbers, and believes districts should continue the mask mandate.

“Some people contend that people don't spread the virus in the school setting, and they are pretty much correct, Why? Because kids are wearing masks," he said. "Take the masks aways its going to be a different story."

Muszynksi said those in the 12 to 19 age bracket are the ones spreading COVID-19 the most in the younger age group. He said that younger people also need to be aware of the new variants out there.

“It's more important that people in high school wear masks,” Muszynski said.​

School districts react to Corcoran's letter

Major school districts in Florida — such as Hillsborough, Orange, Seminole, Miami-Dade counties — are all still undecided on whether they will continue e-learning for students in the fall.

Seminole County Public Schools sent a statement regarding Corcoran's letter:

"It’s definitely something we will be taking into consideration and discuss further while working with our local Medical Professionals, Seminole County Government, & the FL Health Dept. in Seminole County.

At present, we haven’t made any specific decisions regarding the 2021-2022 school year. However, those discussions are planned and will be had in the near future. 

As soon as those decisions have been made, we will immediately share them with our families, staff, & community."

Sherri Owens, a spokeswoman for the Lake County Schools, stated that Corcoran's decision goes in line with what the school district announced to parents last week.

"In Lake, we announced to parents last week that we would continue to require masks this school year and that they would be optional next school year if our local data supported that decision. The state’s announcement is in agreement with ours in allowing masks to remain part of our safety protocols this year. State officials have determined that statewide data supports a change for next school year. So, as long as the data doesn’t change, we expect to implement an optional mask protocol next school year as we had hoped we would be able to do," she stated in an email to Spectrum News on Thursday morning. 

The School District of Osceola County has not made a decision regarding face masks and the coming school year, stated Dana Schafer, the public information officer.

"No decision has been made about masks for the start of next school year at this time. We will continue to monitor the rollout of the vaccinations and the positivity rate in our community and work closely with the Osceola County Department of Health and with the medical experts who have been engaged in our Back-to- School task force since last June to ensure we make the best decision for everyone closer to the start of school," Schafer stated. 

Michael Ollendorff, the media relations manager for Orange County Public Schools, said the school district received the facemask policy information and recommendation from Corcoran and will use them along "with the guidance of local expertise to evaluate the face-mask policy as the new school year approaches."

Parent Ingrid Taylor has 8th graders in Orange County Public Schools and said she supports the current mandate on masks.

“Anything you can do to try to keep people safe and protect others is a good thing,” she said.

Parent Wes Wonkleman, on the other hand, favors voluntary mask use.

“I think we should all be back without masks at this point," he said. "The herd immunity is going to be there for us in the state of Florida and I don't think we need to use them anymore."

In a statement, the Flagler County Schools stated that it appreciates Corcoran's "guidance" as it starts to make plans for the 2021-2022 school year. 

"We have already begun the process of reevaluating all our procedures as we prepare for the 2021-2022 school year. This includes learning options as well as rules on face coverings. Once the process is complete, we will notify our parents, teachers, staff, and administrators of any changes," the school district announced. 

Marion County Public Schools' Public Relations Director Kevin Christian stated in a message to Spectrum News that it is a decision that the school board will decide and that face coverings will remain in place for now. 

Reporter Jason Lanning contributed to this story.