Florida school district to spend $4 million on installing transparent screens in classrooms

(Duval County Public Schools)

A north Florida school district has voted to install transparent screens in classrooms in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Action News Jax reports that Duval County Public Schools voted unanimously to install the barriers at student desks to lower the risk of COVID-19 spread.

“The screens are not the be-all, end-all. We are continuing to add a puzzle piece to try to create a safer environment, not only for our students but our employees as well,” Superintendent Diana Greene told WJXT.

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The screens will cost an estimated $4 million, which the district said would be reimbursed through the CARES Act.

Greene said they are focused on providing the screens to elementary schools first due to the difficulty of mandating face masks with younger ages.

“In the last two weeks, we have grown from 1,900 cases to now we’re about to hit over 6,000," Greene told WJXT. "That is very scary, and I don’t see the slowdown coming, and we’re just trying to be prepared for when August hits."