Delayed Starts and Face Masks: Updates on Reopening Plans for Florida Schools
F. Chris Curran, PhD
Chloe O’Sullivan
Selena Cho
UF Education Policy Research Center Policy Brief
This policy brief provides updated evidence on Florida school districts’ plans for the reopening 
of schools for the coming school year. Drawing on the second round of data collected as part of the UF Education Policy Research Center’s Florida School Reopening Plans Database, this policy brief documents how reopening plans have changed from mid-July to the end of July. As of the last week of July, almost all districts in the state had publicly announced reopening plans, and a handful had been approved by the state. Masks were required at least part-time in about half of districts, a considerable jump from the 34% of districts that required masks in the earlier round of data collection. About half of districts had also announced plans to delay the start of the school year, and several had plans to begin the new school year entirely through remote learning. This is the second in a series of policy briefs that track reopening plans in Florida through the start of the 2020–21 school year.