Hundreds of Palm Beach County students are in quarantine after just two days into the new school year.
The School District of Palm Beach County, the 10th largest school district in the country, have asked 440 students to quarantine. Students and staff are required to wear masks but interim School District Superintendent Michael Burke told MSNBC that 5,700 of the estimated 197,000 students have opted out of the district’s mask mandate per an order from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The governor has got to take responsibility for establishing the ground rules we’re operating under,” Burke said. “This ability for families to opt out is leading to more cases, which will ultimately send more kids home and deprive them of that traditional classroom experience.”
Five employees of the district have also tested positive for COVID-19.
Burke is calling on DeSantis to “reassess the situation” and make changes that are in the best interest of students.
Gov. DeSantis has signed an executive order to cut funding to school districts that implement mask mandates and previously announced that the state Board of Education could withhold pay from school leaders who implemented mask mandates for students after several superintendents and school board members neglected to follow his order banning school districts from requiring students to wear face coverings, according to NPR.
