OKEECHOBEE – Okeechobee County schools are off to a rough start for the 2021-22 school year. Since the school year started Aug. 10, 2021, more than 2,300 students have been excluded from in person learning, Okeechobee Superintendent of Schools told the Okeechobee County Commissioners at their Aug. 26 meeting.

“We’re talking about thousands of lost days of instruction,” he said.

Kenworthy shared the decision tree provided by the Florida Department of Education, which details the rules for how long students who test positive or are exposed to the virus must stay out of school. “It tells us what we need to do if a student has been exposed or has covid,” he said. For example, if you’ve been excluded from school because you have been exposed to a positive, you can come back in four days if you have a negative test, he explained.

“The quicker we can get the kids back in school, the better,” he said.

Kenworthy said the Okeechobee County School Board made mask wearing “recommended but not mandatory” in the Spring. Since Gov. Ron DeSantis has forbidden school board from requiring masks, that policy has not changed.