Message from Dr. Rick Surrency:
The Emergency Rule 64DER21-15 was signed today by the State Surgeon General regarding protocols for controlling COVID-19 in school settings.
The rule has provisions that will affect our current protocols for students with exposure to COVID-19. Attached you will find updated decision trees released by the Florida Department of Education on 9/22/21. We are working to update information on the PCSD COVID-19 Information page as quickly as possible. This rule will affect how we currently track and report data on the PCSD COVID-19 Dashboard.
Section (d) of the rule states, “Schools may adopt requirements for students to wear masks or facial coverings as a mitigation measure; however, the school must allow for a parent or legal guardian of the student to opt the student out of wearing a face covering or mask at the parent or legal guardian’s sole discretion.”
Currently, our only expectation for students to wear a face covering is while riding PCSD transportation. The PCSD COVID-19 Face Covering Opt-Out Form has been updated to meet the guidelines of this rule. This form will be available at the front office of each school and in the documents section of the PCSD COVID-19 Information page.
