Let's see the latest news out of Florida on mandatory masks in schools... quite the turn-around happening after many local school districts revolted against the DeSantis EO.
Masks could be required for students after all, but the state would pay for students to leave
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/e...0210805-4dooz6fa7zbnzioifcfsajx2wa-story.html
Florida’s school districts may be able once again to require that students wear masks, and parents might get vouchers to send their children to private schools if they disagree.
The proposal to the state Board of Education came to light Thursday, raising more uncertainty about whether masks will be required and incensing public education advocates who say it’s one more effort to privatize education.
At the same time, the possibility is at least a partial win for those fighting to keep a mask mandate intact, including the Broward school district.
The proposal, to be discussed at an emergency meeting Friday, has created confusion because it allows vouchers for parents unhappy about mask rules that Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken steps to outlaw.
The governor blocked mask mandates in an order Friday and said school districts could lose funding if they failed to comply. So why is the state Board of Education considering whether to help people avoid the mandates?
A spokeswoman for the Department of Education declined Thursday to clarify, and a spokeswoman for DeSantis couldn’t be reached.
The voucher would be an expansion of the Hope Scholarship, created in 2017 to allow kids who are bullied to use state money to attend a private school or a public school in another district. The proposal essentially puts masks on the same plane as bullying.
Allowing vouchers for parents who object to mask mandates is seen by many as an acknowledgment that school districts can, in fact, impose the rules.
“The governor knows that he can’t tell school districts that they can’t protect children in their schools,” said state Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park. “It would never hold up in court. So they’re going the back way.”
Broward School Board member Debbi Hixon said she believes that DeSantis did not have authority to ban masks because he declared in early May that Florida was no longer under a state of emergency, a status that gave him increased authority to issue a number of other orders related to COVID-19.
While the proposed state rule doesn’t specifically say mask mandates would be allowed, it says parents can qualify for vouchers if they believe “a school district’s COVID-19 health protocols, including masking, pose a health or educational danger to their child.”
DeSantis’ executive order makes health claims about masks that most medical professionals don’t support, including statements that masks could “inhibit breathing, lead to the collection of dangerous impurities including bacteria, parasites, fungi, and other contaminants.”
The proposal doesn’t say whether it applies to either those who oppose mask mandates or those who want to leave districts without mandates.
“I think it would definitely hurt public education if a bunch of people decided to leave in either direction,” said Erica Whitfield, a school board member in Palm Beach County, which doesn’t currently require masks.
The proposed rule could mean that Broward doesn’t have to make any changes to its mask mandate, which triggered DeSantis’ action.
The School Board voted July 28 to extend a requirement that all students, staff and visitors wear masks in the new school year. The district said Monday that it would comply but did an about-face Wednesday and said the mask mandate was still in effect and would be reviewed at a meeting Tuesday. Parents have flooded School Board members with emails, overwhelmingly in support of mask mandates.
(More at above url)
Masks could be required for students after all, but the state would pay for students to leave
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/e...0210805-4dooz6fa7zbnzioifcfsajx2wa-story.html
Florida’s school districts may be able once again to require that students wear masks, and parents might get vouchers to send their children to private schools if they disagree.
The proposal to the state Board of Education came to light Thursday, raising more uncertainty about whether masks will be required and incensing public education advocates who say it’s one more effort to privatize education.
At the same time, the possibility is at least a partial win for those fighting to keep a mask mandate intact, including the Broward school district.
The proposal, to be discussed at an emergency meeting Friday, has created confusion because it allows vouchers for parents unhappy about mask rules that Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken steps to outlaw.
The governor blocked mask mandates in an order Friday and said school districts could lose funding if they failed to comply. So why is the state Board of Education considering whether to help people avoid the mandates?
A spokeswoman for the Department of Education declined Thursday to clarify, and a spokeswoman for DeSantis couldn’t be reached.
The voucher would be an expansion of the Hope Scholarship, created in 2017 to allow kids who are bullied to use state money to attend a private school or a public school in another district. The proposal essentially puts masks on the same plane as bullying.
Allowing vouchers for parents who object to mask mandates is seen by many as an acknowledgment that school districts can, in fact, impose the rules.
“The governor knows that he can’t tell school districts that they can’t protect children in their schools,” said state Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park. “It would never hold up in court. So they’re going the back way.”
Broward School Board member Debbi Hixon said she believes that DeSantis did not have authority to ban masks because he declared in early May that Florida was no longer under a state of emergency, a status that gave him increased authority to issue a number of other orders related to COVID-19.
While the proposed state rule doesn’t specifically say mask mandates would be allowed, it says parents can qualify for vouchers if they believe “a school district’s COVID-19 health protocols, including masking, pose a health or educational danger to their child.”
DeSantis’ executive order makes health claims about masks that most medical professionals don’t support, including statements that masks could “inhibit breathing, lead to the collection of dangerous impurities including bacteria, parasites, fungi, and other contaminants.”
The proposal doesn’t say whether it applies to either those who oppose mask mandates or those who want to leave districts without mandates.
“I think it would definitely hurt public education if a bunch of people decided to leave in either direction,” said Erica Whitfield, a school board member in Palm Beach County, which doesn’t currently require masks.
The proposed rule could mean that Broward doesn’t have to make any changes to its mask mandate, which triggered DeSantis’ action.
The School Board voted July 28 to extend a requirement that all students, staff and visitors wear masks in the new school year. The district said Monday that it would comply but did an about-face Wednesday and said the mask mandate was still in effect and would be reviewed at a meeting Tuesday. Parents have flooded School Board members with emails, overwhelmingly in support of mask mandates.
(More at above url)
