Lee County School Board approves tentative, long-term pandemic mask policy

School District of Lee County approved a long-term emergency requirement for protective gear Tuesday. This doesn’t change anything happening in schools currently, however.

Still, students, teachers and staff all must wear face coverings in district buildings.

The new emergency policy says the district follows CDC and Florida Department of Health guidelines during any pandemic or infectious disease situation.

Several parents spoke against this new requirement for their kids to wear masks.

“This is not, like I said, a policy to wear masks,” board member Gwen Gittens said. “It’s a policy that, if something comes up six years down the road that we have to deal with, that we can deal with that.”

The policy goes into effect immediately for 90 days. After that, the school board can vote to make it permanent.