Orange County Public Schools have made masks fully optional for students.
The decision comes after the Florida legislature passed a series of laws making it harder to mandate safe behavior in a pandemic. OCPS strict mask mandate ended last month, with students who wished to opt-out of mask policies required to get a note from their parents. That requirement is no longer in place.
Masks will be optional for all adults on OCPS property starting on Monday, November 29.
Previously, OCPS was a party to a series of legal challenges to Florida’s anti-mask mandate laws. The district was threatened with fines for continuing its mask mandate into October. That point is now moot, as OCPS has backed off of all masking requirements.
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This article appears in Holiday Guide 2021.