|
 "Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran announced that the
Florida Department of Education has withheld the monthly school
board member salaries in Alachua and Broward County, as directed by
the State Board of Education," the department said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Florida Board of Education told the two
school districts that some of their state funding would be withheld
if they failed to provide parents with a way to opt out of a
requirement that children wear masks.
A Florida state judge on Friday ruled that the state had no
authority to enforce an order by Governor Ron DeSantis banning
public school districts from requiring masks in classrooms, and
barring his administration from withholding funds over mask
mandates.
School boards in Broward and Alachua counties have mandated masks in
schools in defiance of an executive order issued last month by
DeSantis that barred local officials from imposing mask mandates.
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 "Each district has implemented
a mandatory face mask policy that violates
parental rights by not allowing a parent or
legal guardian to opt-out their child," the
statement said, adding that the penalties will
continue until the school boards comply.
Florida is one of several states where
Republican governors have sought to prevent
local governments and school districts from
mandating masks.
These governors have said that such rules
infringe on personal liberty. Proponents of mask
mandates have said the rules are necessary to
mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, as cases rise
particularly in areas with lower vaccination
rates, driven by the highly infectious
coronavirus Delta variant.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru;
Editing by Leslie Adler)
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