Who Can Exempt the Mask Mandate?
September 23, 2021
Disclaimer: All information present in this article is prior to the 9-22-21 new district policies.
Sarasota County Schools had its Mask Mandate policy in full force since August 31, 2021. The only way to get out of wearing a mask is to get a medical form signed from a doctor and send it into the school. The issue at hand arises with who can medically except the students.
Dr. Busch had been reported signing the medical exceptions at Twin Palms Chiropractic, while his were denied, other chiropractic agencies have had no issue with the medical exceptions.
The Sarasota School District did include in their statement that “Exceptions: Students, employees, visitors, and vendors may remove masks in order to eat or drink, for medical reasons, and consistent with a student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP).”
Yet, whether or not this was a fluke or had more reasons behind it there is more concern with the mask policy by students at North Port High School.
Senior classmen Alina Fauly, had a lot to say about this issue:
1.) What is your opinion with the mask policy?
“In my opinion the mask policy is very restricting and incompatible to both effective learning and social engagement.”
2.) Do you think students have done a decent job wearing their masks?
“Students have tried to adapt best they can to the mask policy but throughout school you can see masks hanging off faces, half on faces, or no where in site completely. In our present circumstance, students have done their personal best adaptation to follow masks policies.”
3.) Do you think it’s a good option to exempt from the mask policy?
“Yes and no because if there is a serious health problem with someone and not wearing a mask can limit effective symptoms then by all means the mask exception is a good choice. But also no because it presents modern day separation and targets a student with an exception in COVID-19 exposure or other drastic situations that effect learning in a classroom.”
4.)If it were up to you would you get a medical exemption?
“Yes because I’m a severe migraine sufferer and within the first week of the mandated mask policy, I continued to suffer from migraines everyday. This heavily impacts my focus and learning in class to where, at home, I had to individually seek out lesson plans and material to makeup for what I was unable to focus on in class.”
