Miami-Dade County Public School board members voted Wednesday to temporarily require masks for students and staff while indoors and on buses during the school year that begins Monday, Aug. 23.
Students who have medical reasons or religious beliefs against wearing a mask will be excused, the district said.
Dr. Steve Gallon III, vice school board chair, said it will evaluate the state of the pandemic weekly, as well as its mask policy.
After the vote, School Board Chair Perla Tabares Hantman said, “At this time, as a result of our local conditions, it is necessary for the health and well-being of our students and staff to implement a mask policy.
“While I am a strong advocate for parental choice, I have been guided by science and our medical experts, as it is our duty to act in the best interests of our students, staff and community as we are currently dealing with a public health emergency in Miami-Dade County,” she said.
Florida is experiencing a fourth wave of the coronavirus, a rise attributed to the Delta variant’s infection of unvaccinated people.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges masks be worn as protection against the highly-contagious Delta variant. It also recommends all teachers, students, staff and any visitors to schools wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status.
The school district is offering free immunizations for eligible children at 20 locations on Saturday, Aug. 21 against polio; measles-mumps-rubella (MMR); diphtheria; tetanus and (whooping cough) pertussis; hepatitis B and varicella (chicken pox). Check locations here.
The coronavirus vaccine is not yet approved for children under age 12, a group categorized as most at risk.
Broward County Public Schools and the Archdiocese of Miami schools both put mask mandates in place as their schools reopened.
The M-D County Public Schools said future notices about its guidelines can be found online.