MDCPS families support mask mandated and safety protocols to keep our children safe.  Parents are distraught that COVID cases are on the rise in Miami Dade County and that all students will be returning to the school buildings without assurance that masks will be required to enter school buildings. There is no word of when vaccines will become available for children under age 12. As parents, school officials, and faculty, our children's health, and safety are paramount and our first duty to them. We strongly request that the Miami Dade County School Board make masks mandatory for all children returning to in-person schools. If this is left as "Optional", then we know what will happen, kids will not wear them and the return to school can become a super spreader in the fall, risking having to quarantine and disrupt their learning even further. Let us not risk the health of our children by not extending the mask-wearing a few more months. Only masks can limit the spread of the virus and variants until they are vaccinated. Even one life is far too much a cost for something so preventable. 

Thank you,

MDCPS Parents that Support Masking