Florida education officials to punish school districts with student mask mandates
Last edited Tue Aug 17, 2021, 07:23 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: Washington Post
Florida education officials on Tuesday voted that two school districts violated state law by requiring students without medical exemptions to wear masks, escalating the fight between Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and local school educators. The decision against districts in Broward and Alachua counties would be the first sanctions since DeSantis threatened to withhold money from districts that require face coverings, saying that parents should decide whether their children wear masks at school.
The states Board of Education, whose members are appointed by the governor, decided that the local school officials should be investigated and possibly punished, following input from Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, who argued that the districts were not in compliance with the law. Corcoran also pushed back against the Biden administration, which wrote to him and DeSantis last week saying federal funds could be available to school administrators who faced repercussions from the state. My recommendation is every school superintendent have to comply with the law, whether they agree with it or not, Corcoran said.
In a virtual emergency meeting, board members questioned the districts superintendents, at times becoming combative. Parents, teachers and officials, including state Sen. Gary M. Farmer Jr. (D) and Agriculture Commissioner and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried, called in during the public comment period, expressing a range of heated opinions from disdain for mask mandates to support for the counties facing penalties. Most Americans support mandating masks in schools, with widespread opposition across party lines to states withholding funds from school districts that require masks, according to an Axios/Ipsos coronavirus poll.
Alachua County Schools Superintendent Carlee Simon told the board she didnt believe the districts mask mandate infringed on the states requirements because parents could still opt out by using Floridas Hope Scholarship voucher program to transfer to private schools. But board member Ben Gibson responded the scholarship was meant to be used for students experiencing harassment related to covid-19 safety protocols, adding that the process to receive the state-sanctioned scholarship is burdensome. Broward County interim schools superintendent Vickie Cartwright said the county had five available pediatric ICU beds amid the rampant spread of the delta variant.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/17/covid-delta-variant-live-updates/#link-57TVEUFFUFCCHO5HOEWHMRJXN4
They are sick.
Original article and headline -
Florida education officials voted Tuesday that the Broward County and Alachua County school districts violated state law by requiring students without medical exemptions to wear masks.
The states Board of Education, whose members are appointed by the governor, said it would impose unspecified penalties on the districts, the first since Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) threatened to withhold money from districts that require face coverings, saying that parents should decide whether their children wear masks at school.
As debate over public health mandates simmers across the country, new polling shows that nearly 2 out of every 3 Americans say they support their state or local government requiring masks in all public places to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Pollsters also found that 69 percent of Americans were supportive of requiring teachers, students and administrators to wear masks.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/17/covid-delta-variant-live-updates/
Dan
(3,536 posts)Let DeSantis teach with his chickenshit ass.
Plus, somehow if I were a parent, I would try to pursue a lawsuit against the Governor. I think he has limited immunity when he acts in a medical profession.
We will not even discuss if I had a child that ended up with Covid and died.
Docreed2003
(16,846 posts)To punish a local government trying to control an active pandemic that is crippling their towns, affecting even their children? How could anyone support that? It's madness. Desantis is so afraid that his approach will be exposed as a failure, he's willing to double and triple down on the insane policy, even in the face of this crisis. Perhaps he believes that this will just blow over, he'll weather the storm, and life will go on. It's sick and depraved.
BumRushDaShow
(128,357 posts)have only a few to maintain control of dozens who can overpower you, you have to do a lot of bluffing and blustering as well as inflicting pain to make an "example" of someone to generate fear that it might happen to another.
Just like the Texas Dems left the state, the FL Dems need to do something as dramatic to stop their madness.
Lovie777
(12,214 posts)well with the exception of MAGA.
DeSantis is truly evil.
keithbvadu2
(36,636 posts)If they are breaking the law, arrest them.
Are you too cowardly to do so?
Or are you not sure of the legality?
LiberalFighter
(50,757 posts)Ford_Prefect
(7,867 posts)And always, always own the Libs.
Deuxcents
(16,054 posts)Is getting ready to vote for/against mask mandate here in Florida. If enough stand together and has public support.. which I do support the mask mandates.. we can keep not just the kids healthy.
honest.abe
(8,609 posts)Warpy
(111,116 posts)Face it, you grandstanding assholes, your governor is not a king and his silly proclamations don't mean squat in a public health emergency, no matter how much coin he's raking in from a pharmaceutical manufacturer.
Diamond_Dog
(31,887 posts)Im so glad I dont have kids in school in Florida.
ScratchCat
(1,975 posts)- It was an "emergency meeting". The emergency isn't Covid-19 numbers higher than when schools were shut down last year, no, the "emergency" is kids being required to wear masks to schools they couldn't even attend last year due to lower numbers.
- They intentionally held this before the court hearing on Thursday, simply so a DeSantis appointee could grandstand against Biden just as DeSantis had been doing on fundraising tour across America last week.
- They keep pivoting on the "punishment", even going as far last week as saying the Superintendents and board members were on the "honor system" to not take paychecks. Now, the latest is the DOE will try to remove them from office. And presumably, somehow appoint someone who wont impose a mask mandate. Hmm.... Who does that sound like? (note: Its unlikely State DOE could legally remove an elected county official over this.)
- Other districts are imposing mask mandates as we speak.
BumRushDaShow
(128,357 posts)due to the insanity of their Captain Queeg.
SarcasticSatyr
(1,177 posts)the meeting was a shit show ....
https://flaglerlive.com/167018/chaos-meeting-masks/
lark
(23,059 posts)It was just a sick joke to begin with and an empty rw threat. I would bet this is the same thing, just from another a different r. Hope there is zero they can actually do! We'll see.