COVID has been raging worse than
For our nation’s elementary and
Vaccinations (for those eligible) and
Polling from August showed that a majority — about 6 in 10 Americans — say students and teachers should be required to wear face masks while in school. Similar shares say teachers and eligible students should also be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-health-education-coronavirus-pandemic-only-on-ap-0440d83602da918c571d506a3de9f44b
Many states and districts have requirements for school staff vaccinations and school indoor masking.
See School Policies for 2021-2022 School Year, as of September 13, 2021 https://www.kff.org/report-section/state-covid-19-data-and-policy-actions-policy-actions/#policyactions
Nine STATES WITH MASK MANDATE BANS (including or limited to schools):
FL, IA, UT, TX, AR, OK, AZ, SC, TN.
See: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2021-09-14/school-mask-mandates-by-state
The US Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights sent letters in August to the chief state school officers of Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and more recently this month to Florida, outlining how bans on mask mandates prevent school districts from implementing health and safety policies that they determine are necessary to protect students from COVID-19, especially students with underlying medical conditions related to disabilities.
https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2021-08-30/feds-to-investigate-five-states-over-mask-mandate-bans-in-schools
Florida county circuit judge (Sept 8) orders immediate lifting of DeSantis ban on school mask mandates;
Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper would not stay his order to lift the ban until an appeal could be heard.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-judge-orders-immediate-lifting-desantis-ban-school-mask-mandates-n1278720
But then, late last week:
Appeals Court reinstates FL ban on school mask mandates pending appeal
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article254138713.html
There have been actions by the state to take funding away from districts with mask mandates.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Suzanne B. Goldberg sent a four-page letter to FL ED Commissioner Richard Corcoran informing him that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is opening an investigation into whether the Florida Department of Education may be preventing school districts in the state from considering or meeting the needs of students with disabilities.
From Cait Vanderwolf (she/her) to Everyone: 01:17 PM
Love this essay. Thank you, Carl.
From Miriam Rollin she/her ECRA/NCYL to Everyone: 01:17 PM
FL letter from US ED OCR https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/correspondence/other/20210910-florida-doe.pdf
From Sumi Cho to Everyone: 01:19 PM
From Miriam Rollin: Nine STATES WITH MASK MANDATE BANS (including or limited to schools):
FL, IA, UT, TX, AR, OK, AZ, SC, TN. Now Compare States with Restrictions on Racial Justice Education: FL, ID, UT, TX, OK, AZ, SC, TN, GA, IA, NH, UT. Note: AR does have AG Attorney opinion restricting RJ education…