Florida, for lack of a better word, is a total clusterf*%#. Despite currently ranking number 3 in U.S. states with the most COVID cases, governor Ron DeSantis and many of his fellow lawmakers seem to actively be doing everything they can to avoid following the health guidelines being set forth by the CDC and other medical experts for how to best slow down the spread of this deadly virus, which has already killed more than 4.5 million people worldwide. And now they’re putting the Sunshine State’s school-age children in further danger and threatening the livelihoods of those in charge of educating Florida’s kids.
Earlier this week, as ABC News reports, the Florida Department of Education announced that it was withholding the salaries of school board officials in two counties that had instituted mask mandates in their school districts. While the CDC has recommended “universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status,” Florida has once again decided that it knows better and decided to ban mask mandates altogether.
“We’re going to fight to protect parents’ rights to make health care decisions for their children,” Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said in a statement. “They know what is best for their children.” (Do they though?) “What’s unacceptable is the politicians who have raised their right hands and pledged, under oath, to uphold the Constitution but are not doing so,” Corcoran continued. “Simply said, elected officials cannot pick and choose what laws they want to follow.”
According to ABC News:
The department’s announcement came after a circuit court judge in Florida ruled on Friday that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent executive order banning school mask mandates overstepped his authority. The Florida Department of Education did not mention the ruling in its announcement.
DeSantis had similarly threatened to withhold the salaries of school superintendents who erred on the side of not endangering their students and faculty by requiring them to mask up indoors. When pressed on whether he actually had the authority to do that, DeSantis admitted he did not. (Yes, it’s ok to laugh.)
(Via ABC News)