Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an Executive Order Friday prohibiting school districts from implementing mask mandates for students and educators.
DeSantis said he signed the order because several Florida school boards were considering mandating masks in the classroom. In a press release, the Republican governor blamed the Biden administration for issuing “unscientific and inconsistent recommendations that school-aged children wear masks.”
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“Immediate action is needed to protect the fundamental right of parents to make health and educational decisions for their children,” the executive order states. “We should protect the freedoms and statutory rights of students and parents by resting with the parent’s decision whether their children should wear masks in school.”
The School Board of Broward County voted Wednesday to impose a face mask mandate in its public schools when classes begin on August 18.
“There is no way in good conscience that I could bring anybody back into a school environment on the bus, the cafeteria, and not have a mask mandate. That is a moral decision,” said Broward schools board chair Rosalind Osgood.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools had required masks on school buses beginning August 23, but its board had not announced plans for masks in the classroom.
School board members denounced the governor’s executive order.
“It is a disappointing decision,” Broward school board member Sarah Leonardi told WPLG Local 10. “I fear that with that decision we will see increases in cases in our schools and our communities.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend children and educators wear masks to “safely return” to the classroom and prevent the transmission of COVID-19, particularly amid the wildfire-like spread of the Delta variant.
Gov. DeSantis’ executive order contradicts CDC recommendations.
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