The Sarasota County School Board will discuss the district’s face-covering policy at a workshop on Tuesday and will later vote on whether to keep a mask mandate in place.
The emergency order requiring face coverings to help slow the spread of COVID-19 is set to expire early next month.
If extended, the policy could remain in place until the end of the school year.
Public health officials have urged the board to keep the mask mandate in place. At a school board meeting in September, Sarasota County Health Department administrator Chuck Henry said masks and social distancing were key tools to mitigating the virus.
But a vocal contingent of protesters has objected to the mask policy at recentschool board meetings.
Earlier this month, people for and against face masks, verbally taunted each other at meetings, which caused security to escort people out of the meeting room.
The school board vote takes place amid a rising positivity test rate for COVID-19 in Sarasota County. As of Monday, just over 6 percent of tests have come back positive, compared to under 4 percent, two weeks ago.
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