Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis listens to Richard Corcoran, Florida Education Commissioner, speak at a Bayview Elementary School press conference on October 7, 2019. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Florida threatens to fire school officials who disrespect DeSantis
TALLAHASSEE Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis battle over school masks took a dramatic turn Tuesday when the state Board of Education ruled that two school districts were in violation of state law. They threatened to fire local elected officials who disobeyed the GOP governor.
Schools in Broward County and Alachua County are refusing to comply with DeSantis orders banning mask mandates. They could now face a variety of possible punishments.
Yet, even though these counties were harassed for their opposition to DeSantis's agenda, school leaders from other Florida counties, including Miami-Dade (Floridas largest school district), are considering their own mask mandates. This signals that the long-running battle over Florida's face coverings is not over.
There are districts that pick and choose which laws they follow, Richard Corcoran, Florida Education Commissioner, said Tuesday at a virtual education meeting.
Along with Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee, Florida has sought to block local mask requirements in schools as the new in person education year begins. This is in direct contradiction with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance that recommends face coverings indoors for all children, regardless of their vaccination status. Face coverings have quickly become a contentious issue amid the recent surge in Covid infection. Parents are fighting with school officials, the White House and Texas GOP Gov. DeSantis. Greg Abbott was positive for Covid after he tested positive on Tuesday.
DeSantis is currently running for reelection in 2022 and wants parents to be able to decide whether students wear masks. This position has been adopted by the vast majority of Florida school districts. DeSantis' administration has rejected making facial coverings mandatory and rejecting lockdowns. It maintains that masks don't make enough of a difference for school-aged children to require blankets statewide or locally.
Some school districts have had to reconsider their policy on face coverings due to the Delta strain of Covid-19. This is despite DeSantis' threats to withhold state funds. Already thousands of Florida students remain isolated because they may have been in contact with Covid-19, and at least three Broward County teachers died from the virus last week.
Tuesday's emergency meeting saw the state Board of Education question Alachua schools superintendent Carlee Simon about her district policy that required students to wear masks unless they were approved by a doctor. One of the Board chairs, Tom Grady, led Simon through a scenario in which he would react if teachers refused to teach certain subjects.
Rules are important, Mrs. Simon? Grady said.
Simon stood firm, however, for Alachua's mask mandate which, according to the state board, is in violation of the DeSantis rules.
Simon explained to the board that if the goal is to get students face-to-face, then masks are the best way to do it.
The districts that were pushing for school mask mandates ran the risk of losing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in state funding. This amount is tied to the salaries of the superintendent and school board members. Last week, the Biden administration stated that federal Covid-19 relief could help to replenish school budgets that were cut for face coverings. This was a controversial move that angered Corcoran and other state leaders.
Corcoran took aim at President Joe Biden Tuesday, asking the board to ignore the U.S. Department of Educations decision in the local scrap mask case.
Corcoran stated that the Biden administration is "asleep at the wheel" for the entire world.
Grady, who was leading the state Board of Education, described a number of possible sanctions schools could face for mandating the use of masks, but he did not issue any sanctions. Grady stated that the state could eventually remove school officials or submit a report back to the state Legislature in an effort to force lawmakers to take action against local schools boards.
Grady, who was a former financial regulator commissioner, also objected recently to media appearances made by school leaders from Alachua or Broward. He suggested that the Department of Education file a request for public records to determine if schools have used state money for political or public relations purposes.
Others on the state board expressed concern that local education officials might disregard rules they don't like to follow.
Ben Gibson, a board member, said that the Legislature is useless and the executive branch serves no purpose. Our school boards can do whatever they like.
Despite the fact that Alachua & Broward face possible sanctions from The Department of Education, other school district are poised to follow their lead.
Hillsborough's school board will meet Wednesday to discuss a mandate to prop up a mask after almost 6,000 students were quarantined from their campuses last week. Nearly 219,000 students are enrolled in schools in Hillsborough County. Since Aug. 9, 1,169 Covid-19 cases were reported by students and staff, with 487 of these cases occurring on Monday.
The Miami-Dade County School Board is meeting Wednesday with Superintendent Alberto Carvalho to try to avoid another fall. He is open to a mask mandate, but has been advised by the district medical experts to stay away from a similar start.
Carvalho stated Monday that despite any future accusation or consequences, I can confidently and comfortably state that my mind is set on moving forward.
DeSantis attempt to block local school-mask mandates is currently facing multiple lawsuits. One of these is filed by parents and is due to be heard in circuit court on Thursday. According to the U.S. Education Department, students and staff are at risk due to Republican governors' opposition to mask mandates. This is contrary to CDC guidance.
Similar arguments are being waged in Texas, Dallas, and Austin over masks. Schools in these cities are now requiring masks, despite the fact that face covering is prohibited by Abbott.
Governor Newsom of California is the exception. Gavin Newsom has imposed strict school precautions in California, including a first of its kind teacher and staff vaccination requirement, and a universal mask mandate that was ahead of CDC guidance. However, he has been accused of government overreach by Republicans.
DeSantis' top Democratic challengers for the gubernatorial seat, Charlie Crist of Florida and Nikki Fried, Agriculture Commissioner, are using DeSantis strict rules about masks to campaign against Republican governor.
Fried said Tuesday that this is an emergency. Instead of focusing on helping, Fried said Tuesday that Fried and the commissioner of education are trying to figure out how they can punish schools that ask students to wear masks.
Mackenzie Mays contributed this report.
