Before cases started to skyrocket and the Delta variant became the most dominant strain of the coronavirus, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis passed an executive order banning schools from putting mask mandates in place. Now, President Joe Biden is offering cash to schools that defy the order.
Listen to your favorite News/Talk station now on Audacy.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona sent a letter on Friday to DeSantis and the Florida education commissioner. The letter said that school districts could, at their "sole and complete discretion," use federal funds to pay the salaries of administrators and board members withheld by the state for defying the order.
"We are eager to partner with [the Florida Department of Education] on any efforts to further our shared goals of protecting the health and safety of students and educators," Cardona said in the letter.
"If FLDOE does not wish to pursue such an approach, the Department will continue to work directly with the school districts and educators that serve Florida's students."
Related
The response from DeSantis came via a spokeswoman who criticized the Biden administration for using federal funds "on the salaries of superintendents and elected politicians, who don't believe that parents have a right to choose what's best for their children, than on Florida's students, which is what these funds should be used for."
The decision on masks for DeSantis came from wanting to give parents the freedom to choose what to do with their children. Days before he signed his executive order, the CDC released a report recommending all students and staff wear masks this fall.
Now, the Biden administration's decision comes after the governor's office threatened to withhold the salaries of school board members and superintendents who don't comply with the executive order.
Related
Cardona believes that local school leaders should be allowed to decide on their own mask rules.
"Any threat by Florida to withhold salaries from superintendents and school board members who are working to protect students and educators (or to levy other financial penalties) can be addressed using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief [ESSER] funds at the sole and complete discretion of Florida school districts," Cardona wrote.
Florida is currently dealing with some of the country's highest Covid case counts, deaths, and hospitalization numbers. On Friday, state health officials said the number of deaths from the virus jumped to 1,000 for the week. This was up from 600 the previous week. In total, the state's death toll rose to 40,766, the New York Post reported.
For hospitalizations, the state has 15,441 residents in the state receiving medical care for the virus. Of those hospitalized, 3,200 are in intensive care units.
Florida is now averaging 21,680 new cases per day over the last week, the Post reported.
In his letter, Cardona shared he is "deeply concerned" with DeSantis and his order amid the outbreak in the state.
Related
