Florida is the epicenter of the worst outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. School boards in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties voted on August 18, 2021 to join Broward and Alachua in requiring students to wear facial coverings unless they get a doctor’s note. Orange County still allows an easy parental opt-out, but essentially four of Florida’s five largest districts are now defying Governor Ron DeathSantis’ ban on strict mask mandates.
The state board on August 17, 2021 voted to “investigate” the actions of Alachua and Broward school officials. The board could pursue financial and other penalties against school officials who require face mask mandates to keep children safe, even floating the idea of removing them from office.
Children under the age of 12 who can not yet get vaccinated are quite good at transmitting the virus. The highly contagious delta variant makes it absolutely necessary to wear masks indoors and avoid large group gatherings, so if unprotected students sit for hours in classrooms every day, it could rapidly spread infection in the community at large.
On August 18, 2021, President Joe Biden said his administration is prepared to take possible legal action against governors who try to prevent local school officials from imposing universal mask mandates, throwing yet another wrench into Governir Ron DeathSantis’ plans to sanction Florida school districts that require students to wear masks. “We’re not going to sit by as governors try to block and intimidate educators protecting our children,” Biden said at the news conference. “If a governor wants to cut the pay of a hard-working education leader who requires masks in the classroom, the money from the American Rescue Plan can be used to pay that person’s salary,” Biden said. “One hundred percent.”
“Some politicians are trying to turn public safety measures — that is, children wearing masks in school — into political disputes for their own political gain,” Biden said. “Some are even trying to take power away from local educators. They’re setting a dangerous tone.”