Volusia school board cancels emergency meeting to discuss face masks
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - The Volusia County School Board has canceled the emergency meeting on its face mask policy planned for Thursday night.
The school board confirmed to FOX 35 that the meeting was canceled as they await a court ruling from the 1st District Court of Appeal.
With that, the ongoing face-mask policy will continue at Volusia County public schools. Face coverings are required for K-12 students and all adults. There is a grace period this week for families to obtain a note from a medical professional requesting a medical exemption. This policy will continue at least until October 15 and will be revisited during the next normal school board meeting, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 14th.
A letter was recently sent to two Volusia County schools by a parent threatening to call the police and file a police report if anyone at school forced their child to wear a face mask. The district's union president said that it will be up to administrators to handle these types of situations. However, he did confirm that the district’s general counsel and the superintendent are looking into it.
When asked their thoughts about the threatening letter, parents were mixed.
"We’re not making decisions for our kids when we’re the ones that should be making decisions for our kids. Not government," said one parent.
"It's way too much. What are the police gonna do realistically?" another told FOX 35.
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It remains to be seen if next week's school board meeting will include the parent's letter.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, child COVID cases were declining in early summer, but have increased exponentially since the start of the school year, making up more than 26-percent of all cases nationwide.
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