Samuel Case, FISM News
Florida school districts are easing their masking policy following Governor DeSantis’ executive order that could withhold funding from schools that continue to require students to wear facemasks.
Forcing kids to wear masks is bad policy. Parents are best equipped to decide whether they want their kids to wear a mask in school. Neither bureaucrats in Washington nor local authorities should be able to override the decision of the parents. pic.twitter.com/1TyFByAaWf
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) July 28, 2021
DeSantis signed the order last Friday, following the CDC recommendation that vaccinated individuals should wear masks indoors in areas with high rates of transmission and reversed it’s mask policy for schools. “In Florida, there will be no lockdowns, there will be no school closures, there will be no restrictions and no mandates in the state of Florida,” the governor said.
This week two school districts that have been pursuing school mask mandates, Broward County and Gadsen county, announced that they will be following the executive order. A Gadsen county spokesperson said, “Gadsden County Schools will do as much as we can to follow CDC guidelines as the governor will allow.”
Broward County school district, where the school board voted last week to require masks, released a statement saying, “Broward County Public Schools intends to comply with the Governor’s latest Executive Order… Safety remains our highest priority. The District will advocate for all eligible students and staff to receive vaccines and strongly encourage masks to be worn by everyone in schools.”
The state of Florida is currently experiencing record setting hospitalizations. Over the weekend the Florida Hospital Association reported 10,389 hospitalizations, breaking the state’s previous record from July 23, 2020 of 10,170.