In a letter to Brevard Public Schools Superintendent Mark Mullins and School Board Chair Misty Belford, Richard Corcoran, the state education commissioner announced the school district is under investigation for its COVID-19 mask mandate, which only allows for a medical exemptions.
The letter states that the State is concerned about the violations against Emergency Rule 64DER21-12, which, according to the Florida Department of Education, requires that any mask mandate issued by a school or school district “must allow for a parent or legal guardian of the student to opt-out the student from wearing a face covering or mask.”
The emergency rule does not require parents to submit a doctor’s note for students to opt out of the mandate, though the district’s current mandate does require one.
“Recent reports in the media indicate that the Brevard County School Board has taken action inconsistent with the emergency rule by limiting or conditioning the parental ability to opt out of a face covering or mask mandate,” the letter read.