Schools debate mask mandates

Marion School District in Arkansas has 949 employees and students in quarantine after a coronavirus outbreak. The district supports the recent decision from a Pulaski County judge to block Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s law banning mask mandates. The judge said the law unfairly discriminated between public and private schools. Hutchinson, a Republican, said earlier this week he regretted signing the law and wanted to walk it back. On Friday, Florida’s Board of Education approved private school vouchers for parents who disagree with public school mask requirements. The board also added “COVID-19 harassment” to an existing list of prohibited forms of discrimination. The decision could prevent school districts from enforcing mask mandates. The Department of Health said schools can require masks but must allow parents to opt out of mandates.

What are parents saying? More than a dozen parents are suing Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Education Department over the ban on mask mandates. They claim that “anti-mask actions” violate the Americans with Disabilities Act by preventing immunocompromised or disabled children from attending public school. Broward County’s school board decided to approve mask requirements despite parent protests, screaming matches, and mask-burning.

Dig deeper: Read Steve West’s report in Schooled on university vaccine mandates.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated and corrected this report since its initial posting.