Starting today, M-DCPS parents can access opt-out form for face masks

DORAL, FL – Opt-out form for face masks is available from today to all students of Miami-Dade Public Schools regardless of grade level.

This means, students who choose so can stop wearing masks to school from this Friday, as expressed by Superintendent Alberto Carvalho at a news conference Tuesday. 

The termination of mandatory mask mandate in the district was issued citing low rates of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations in the community.

More specifically, Carvalho said the county is meeting six COVID-19 criteria, including cases in the community being below 100 per every 100,000 residents.

“We vetted this data very carefully and we consulted once again with our medical experts, having obtained overwhelming consensus about today’s announcement,” Carvalho said.

In addition, the decision was also influenced by the vaccinations status in the district since the goal was to have at least 60% of eligible students vaccinated. Carvalho said about 63% of eligible students are fully vaccinated, while around 83% have received at least one dose.

It was revealed that the good news are also extended to Miami-Dade Public Schools where the average numbers of COVID-19 cases have dropped to an average of less than 20 over the past five weeks.

Last Friday, there were 14 cases district-wide out of a total of around 330,000 students and about 48,000 employees. Around 75% of Miami-Dade schools had zero cases last week, Carvalho said.

The opt-out form in elementary schools is new as last week it was announced that only middle and high school students were going to be allowed to attend classes without a mask.  Now all elementary and K-8 schools are included.

About 9,000 middle and high schooler students have already used the opt-out since it was made available last week.

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