Volusia School Board moving forward on optional masks The Volusia County School Board generally agrees: Face masks should be optional after this school year ends. It's still in the works, but at their workshop on Tuesday board members discussed a policy change that could go into effect as soon as July 1. Rather than requiring that students, staff and visitors wear masks whenever social distancing is not possible, the official policy will "encourage" everyone to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while on district property. The discussion at the workshop echoed other recent discussions the board has had on the subject, but overall board members are in favor of making the mask policy optional — with the understanding that the state of the coronavirus pandemic may change in the future.