Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order in July prohibiting Florida schools from mandating masks for students and faculty.
Now that school has arrived, the Florida Board of Education has unanimously voted to sanction two public school districts who have defied the governor’s orders, Fox News reported.
“The federal government has no right to tell parents that in order for their kids to attend school in person, they must be forced to wear a mask all day, every day,” DeSantis said in his announcement in July.
“Many Florida schoolchildren have suffered under forced masking policies, and it is prudent to protect the ability of parents to make decisions regarding the wearing of masks by their children,” he added.
According to education board officials, the districts in violation of the order will be hit with sanctions.
Those sanctions could include the withholding of the salaries of school officials.
School officials could also lose their jobs as a result of their failure to follow instructions.
“These districts, maybe while well-intentioned, have not followed the protocols,” said Richard Corcoran, the red state’s education commissioner, during a Tuesday board meeting. “They have to comply with the law, whether they agree with it or not.”
The Alachua and Broward districts in particular have decided to ignore the governor’s orders.
These districts have demanded that all students wear masks or obtain a doctor’s note excusing them from masking.
Authorities expect the Miami–Dade County school district, the largest in the state, to announce a mask mandate this week.
Such a decision would set up a major confrontation between the state and its public school system.
DeSantis, a possible GOP contender for the 2024 presidential nomination, has come under considerable fire from the liberal media and the Biden administration for his response to the coronavirus, despite his success.
“Why don’t you do your job?” he said during a press conference last week after Biden criticized Florida’s rise in cases.
“Why don’t you get this border secure?,” DeSantis continued. “And until you do that, I don’t wanna hear a blip about COVID from you, thank you.”
