It is in fact, extremely one sided," the Leon County parent said. "Those funds are then available to help parents get their child out of a situation that's 100% in keeping with the right of a parent to direct the education and health of their children," Gibson added.Īn outraged parent chimed in during the public comment session, "I urge you to look beyond the false platitudes of parental rights and personal freedoms that this rule espouses. You could go to another school district, or you could access a private school that accepts state scholarships and the funding would follow, but it's not taking money from the district." According to the board, "it is not money that was appropriated to the districts."ĭuring the hour-long conference call, vice chair Ben Gibson explained further that "this rule allows a parent to access a scholarship that they could use to go to a different public school, they could use to cross to a different district if you happen to live near a line. As explained during the emergency session, the money comes from Floridians who chose to make donations to the program when they buy motor vehicles. The funds, in the form of a voucher, can be used to switch schools. The second rule set forth pertained to using Hope Scholarship funds for parents who felt their kids were being harassed because of their personal choice of mask use. They can also access the Florida Virtual School and obtain a virtual education," school board chair Tom Grady replied. If they want to send their student to a virtual school, they should reach out to their own district. "I also like to point out that all children in Florida do have a virtual option. Mears urged school districts to implement procedures so children could continue learning at home.ĭuring the time set aside for public comment, several parents complained that virtual schooling was no longer an option in their school districts forcing them to send their healthy kids into schools. Since "these directives will result in learning loss for students unless plans are enacted to continue learning during 'stay-home' days," according to the document presenting the emergency rule.īoard of Education General Counsel Michael Mears stipulated during Friday's emergency meeting that "even though they won't be physically present under this rule, they'll be able to continue their education and get credit for those days of schools outside of the physical school building." The first rule presented by the Florida School Board of Education states that in the event that school districts implement quarantine orders for students who could be exposed or could become infected, attendance rules should change as to not impact the education of children. The rules will go into effect immediately for the upcoming start of the school year.įriday's emergency meeting was called as parental concerns grow around Covid-19 protocols. The Florida Board of Education unanimously passed two rules - one regarding school attendance as it relates to Covid-19 and another about the use of scholarship funds to help kids being harassed for mask use. Many states eased mask requirements for those who are vaccinated after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised that fully vaccinated people could go without masks in most indoor and outdoor settings.School buses are seen parked at a school in Winter Springs, Florida, in August 2020. Some states continue to require the use of masks for unvaccinated people, and some governors are still mandating that businesses observe social distancing rules, even as they lift capacity limits. In the few states that have yet to fully reopen, governors have set targets for doing so based on vaccination rates or other health measures.Ī full reopening still comes with rules in many places. States have moved closer to lifting all restrictions on businesses and gatherings as the vaccination campaign has progressed. A nationwide patchwork of rules for businesses and residents resulted over months of trial and error, as governors reopened some sectors only to later re-close and reopen them again as infection rates rose and fell. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, it has been largely up to state and local officials to determine what restrictions, if any, to impose to slow new infections. It appears nearly the entire country will be open with few restrictions by the Fourth of July. Once 70 percent of residents have been fully vaccinated.įurther reopening plans will be announced before the current executive order expires on July 4.Īll across the country, mask mandates have eased, restrictions have lifted and most states have gone back to business as usual.
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