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Scottsdale Unified implements mask mandate despite protesters

Approval comes during a protest from anti-mandate parents outside.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Scottsdale Unified School Board voted 4-1 to implement a mask mandate for its 28 school campuses and district facilities after a more than three-hour meeting late Wednesday night.

The mask requirement will fall in line with recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.

Before the virtual meeting, around 100 protestors tried to build resistance against the measure. There was no public comment allowed during the approval of the mask mandate.

The mandate is set to go into effect on August 20. Under the provisions, anyone violating the mandate would face the same punishments as someone violating the dress code.

No end date is included in the measure, but it would be at risk of ending on September 29 if a law banning schools from implementing mask mandates is not found unconstitutional or unenforceable. 

Barring the law going into effect, the measure gives the school superintendent the power to end the mandate.

Scottsdale Unified becomes the latest school district to implement a mask mandate as the number of COVID cases have increased in recent weeks.

RELATED: These Arizona school districts still have a mask requirement

Tuesday, Governor Doug Ducey announced federal grants of more than $160 million to schools, as long as they follow all laws. That includes the aforementioned mask mandate law and requirements to have kids in class.

The decision was slammed by State Superintendent Kathy Hoffman who called it a “outrageous attack” on education. Hoffman continued “We need serious leadership to get our students and schools through this pandemic and that is woefully lacking from the 9th floor.”

RELATED: Ducey offering $163 million in funding to schools following state laws, allowing in-person classes

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