Almost 200 Miami-Dade schools serve as polling places. That means no school Tuesday.
Miami-Dade County public school students have the day off next Tuesday, Election Day.
That goes for the roughly half of the 255,000 pupils who opted to return to in-person learning four weeks ago and the rest who continue to learn online from their homes.
The students get out of class because Tuesday is a teacher planning day and also because 196 schools will serve as polling places, according to a district press release.
The announcement comes as the district is dealing with an increase in COVID-19 cases and quarantining hundreds of students who have possibly come into contact with those who’ve tested positive.
According to the district’s online dashboard listing COVID cases in schools, 332 people, either employees or students, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the beginning of October. That’s up from 251 cases Monday.
The number is likely significantly higher because cases only appear on the dashboard after they have been confirmed by the Florida Department of Health, so there is a lag time of more than a week in some instances.
The district said in its press release that all poll workers at the schools Tuesday will be required to wear masks, face shields and gloves at all times.
“Disinfecting wipes, spray and antibacterial gel will be provided and all surfaces in the polling room will be wiped down on a continuous basis,” the announcement reads.
Masks are also required for all voters.
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 7:52 PM.
