Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on mask mandates is being put to the test in Florida, where the state’s largest school district is refusing to comply with his order.
Mr. DeSantis’ response to the coronavirus in Florida has helped make him more of a household name nationwide. He’s been showered with accolades from the right and criticism from the left, which accuses him of putting his 2024 presidential ambitions ahead of the safety of school children, teachers and faculty.
The latest surge in cases has Mr. DeSantis and governors across the nation facing new challenges as the school year gets underway and has set off another round of political and legal clashes over how far schools should go in trying to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Miami-Dade County School Board on Wednesday voted 7-to-1 in favor of imposing a mask mandate for students and teachers when the state’s biggest district reopens next week.
“For the consequences associated with doing the right thing, whatever that right thing is, I will wear [it] proudly as a badge of honor,” Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho Carvalho told The Florida Board of Education, according to the Miami Herald. “I’m going to leave here today and go to my own school board meeting and I’m going to do that, which is right, rightfully righteous.”
The school board’s vote came days after the state board of education voted unanimously to sanction Broward and Alachua counties for embracing mask mandates.
It also came a little more than a month after Mr. DeSantis issued an order barring Florida schools from mandating masks.
Mr. DeSantis said the decision of whether or not their child should be masked should be left up to parents. He also said he has not seen studies showing that mask-wearing limits outbreaks in schools.
Miami-Dade school officials say they are following the advice of a medical task force that advised them to move in this direction.
The decision follows the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends “universal indoor masking by all students, staff, teachers and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status” in response to the spike in Delta variant cases.
Schools across the country are requiring face covering to protect kids who aren’t eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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