Topline
Ten Florida school districts, including those that cover most of Florida's largest cities, have mandated masks after two additional districts approved masks Tuesday night. This is despite the fact that schools continue to protest against Florida's ban on mask orders and state officials punishing those who comply.
Baldwin Park Elementary School, Orlando, Florida, welcomes students on the first day. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The Key Facts
Orange County, which includes Indian River County, voted Tuesday to approve mask mandates for at least a short time. However, Indian Rivers mandate only applies to kindergarten through eighth grades. These counties are joined by Broward, Alachua. Duval. Hillsborough. Leon. Sarasota. Palm Beach. They have imposed mask mandates that violate the state policy and do not offer parents an option to opt out. The mandates apply to most major Florida cities, including Miami, Palm Beach and Tampa. Broward and Alachua were the first to implement the mandates. The Florida State Board of Education sanctioned those counties on August 17. The mandates were imposed by eight other counties in the week that has passed since the original two counties were sanctioned. However, they could also be punished. Indian River, which voted for President Donald Trump in 2020's election, is now the second county to impose a mandate.
Big Number
54%. According to Quinnipiac's August 17-21 poll, 54% of Florida adults believe that schools should have the authority to require masks and not leave it up to parents to decide whether their child is wearing one. The 60% majority supported the requirement that students, teachers, and staff wear masks at school.
What to Watch
In the next few days, Broward and Alachua county will be punished by the state for violating their mask mandates. The funding equivalent to their salaries as school board members will be withdrawn. The state issued the counties the ultimatum to drop their mask mandates by Tuesday. Both counties refused. Christina Pushaw, spokesperson of Gov., is likely to be responsible for the consequences that followed their lead. According to Ron DeSantis in an email to Forbes, school board members found in violation of state law are likely to face consequences. Christina Pushaw, spokesperson for Gov.
Contra
Some counties in Florida have not been willing to ignore the state guidelines. Pinellas County voted against holding Tuesday's special meeting to review its mask policy. School boards in Polk and Manatee have also left in place mask guidelines that conform with the state.
Important Background
Florida is one of nine states that have passed policies prohibiting school districts from imposing mask mandates. This has been controversial since a new school year starts amid the rapid spread of the highly transmissible delta virus. The state's July ban by DeSantis has been particularly controversial due to the recent Covid epidemic. Just weeks into the school year, thousands of schools have been placed in quarantine. Some schools are now forced to return to virtual learning temporarily due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The White House supports schools that have implemented mask mandate bans, despite state policies against them. They can use federal funds to replace state funds withheld. It vows to investigate and possibly take action against those states.
Continue reading
More than half of Florida's students attend schools that have mask mandates, defying DeSantis (Washington Post).
Florida residents are most supportive of school mask mandates. However, more districts oppose state ban (Forbes).
Three more Florida school districts impose a mask mandate after state sanctions two (Forbes).
Florida to Provide Funding for 2 School Districts that Have Imposed Mask Mandates. They Must Be Removed within 48 Hours (Forbes).
Florida School Board Sanctions School districts for Imposing Mask Mandates (Forbes).
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