FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida school district is defying the governor, requiring masks to be worn when the 2021-22 school year begins.
The Broward County School Board voted Wednesday to continue its mandatory mask requirement for students, staff and visitors at all schools and district facilities.
Masks will not be required when outdoors and all social distancing guidelines remain in place.
The move comes as the number of Florida COVID-19 cases surge.
Broward County Public Schools are the first in South Florida to reinstate a mask mandate headed into the new school year. Masks remain optional at public schools in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its guidance, stating students and staff in school, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has adamantly opposed mandatory mask rules for schools, even threatening legislative action to prevent it.
The first day of school in Broward County is Aug. 18.