School Board of Manatee County extends mask mandate

A mask mandate with opt-out option will be in place for the School District of Manatee County until Oct. 29.

By Liz Ramos
| 9:15 p.m. August 24, 2021

The School Board of Manatee County votes 3-2 to extend its mask mandate with opt out option until Oct. 29.

East County
Schools

The School Board of Manatee County voted 3-2 to extend its mask mandate with an opt-out option for students and employees until Oct. 29.

Board members Chad Choate and Gina Messenger were the dissenting votes.

The extension of the mask mandate comes after the board approved a mandate with an opt-out option during an emergency meeting Aug. 16 after seeing a large number of COVID-19 cases among students and employees throughout the School District of Manatee County.

As of Aug. 24, the district reported 1,190 cases since school started Aug. 10.

To opt out of the mask mandate, parents can complete a SDMC Mask Parental Preference Form electronically via the FOCUS parent portal account. Forms also are available at schools' front offices.