On Nov. 18, the Superintendent of Miami Dade County Public Schools, Alberto M. Carvalho, announced that facial coverings in schools are no longer mandatory and that the parental opt-out form has been removed from all school websites. Asymptomatic students or staff who have had exposure to COVID-19 are no longer required to self-quarantine/isolate. The announcement came after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation restricting vaccine mandates and school mask rules. Both of these new regulations are effective immediately, beginning on Fri, Nov. 19.

As M-DCPS continues to implement COVID-19 protocols, they encourage the usage of face coverings in indoor settings and continue to promote other health precautions. Since Miami-Dade is the largest school district in Florida, this is a big step for Dade County schools. 

At the start of this school year, all students and staff were required to wear masks indoors with self-isolation being optional. At the beginning of November, however, another revision to the mask mandates was made and the district implemented the facial covering opt-out form. As the school year progresses, mask mandates continue to change as the world slowly returns to normalcy.