JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As students in Duval County made their way back to the classroom on the first day of school, nearly 100 teachers did not.
According to Duval County Public Schools, a total of 96 teachers called out sick on Tuesday.
The district did not say if the reasons for the call-outs were related to COVID-19 or the mandatory mask mandate.
Currently, teachers and staff at Duval County schools are required to wear masks on campus and in school facilities for 30 days. This mandate began on Aug. 2.
On Tuesday, the district also relaunched its COVID Dashboard.
One DCPS student and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19 on the first day of school, according to the dashboard. The student is enrolled at Twin Lakes Elementary while the staff member works at Sandalwood High School.
Additionally, DCPS reported that approximately 8,200 students opted out of wearing masks at school. The students that opted out represent about five percent of the total student population enrolled in brick and mortar schools.
Last week, the school board voted to require parents to fill out an opt-out form for their children to be exempted from wearing masks at school.
First Coast News has inquired about the total number of teacher call-outs for Wednesday and we will update this story as soon as we hear back from the district.