Florida Chiropractor Allegedly Provided More Than 500 Pre-Signed Mask Exemption Forms to Students

A Florida chiropractor is under fire after providing more than 500 notes exempting students from wearing masks at school.

According to USA Today, a chiropractor at Twin Palms Chiropractic in Venice, Florida, Dan Busch, signed roughly one-third of all medical exemption forms turned in to the Sarasota County School District. The district has since tightened up its policy of what categories of medical professionals can sign an exemption form.

Various media reports over the last week showed families in lines wrapping around Busch’s practice, with some parents admitting to grabbing pre-signed exempt forms from the chiropractor. The district is now trying to figure out how to handle these forms since they pre-date the current rule change. It’s likely that they will no longer be valid.

With the Delta variant on the rise around the country, the district decided to enforce a new mask policy that began on Monday. The policy states that a child must wear a mask or have a form provided by a medical official that explains why a mask would be detrimental for the student. After the influx of forms signed by Busch, rumors started to circulate claiming that his office was distributing pre-signed forms.

This moved Superintendent Brennan Asplen to amend the policy on Tuesday evening, stating that exemption forms can only be signed by medical doctors, osteopathic licensed physicians, or advanced registered nurse practitioners. Asplen then released a statement explaining that the new rule change was done “so that we can be consistent in our consideration of whether medical reasons warrant individuals to be exempt from the policy and to prevent abuse.”