Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis.Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday threatened school districts enforcing masks despite hisexecutive orderthat puts the decision solely in the hands of parents.
“The State Board of Education could move to withhold the salary of the district superintendent or school-board members, as a narrowly tailored means to address the decision-makers who led to the violation of law,” DeSantis wrote.
The governor also stated he is focused on “protecting parents' rights and ensuring that every student has access to a high-quality education that meets their unique needs.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis.Wilfredo Lee/AP/Shutterstock
DeSantis' spokesperson Christina Pushaw said in atweeton Monday, “Ultimately — Education funding is for the students. The kids didn’t make the decision to encroach upon parents' rights. So any financial penalties for breaking the rule would be targeted to those officials who made that decision.”
She later clarified: “Only the salaries of those superintendents and school board members who intentionally defy the EO and the subsequent rules protecting parents' rights” could face financial consequences.
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Carvalho alsotweetedon Monday, “Threat-laced humiliation has not served and will not serve humanity well.”
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In addition to the superintendent’s criticism, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana has also criticized DeSantis' executive order, tellingCNNon Sunday, “If you have a large percentage of your population that’s not vaccinated and your infection rate is going up, you’ve got one or two choices. If you’re inside, you’re vaccinated or have to wear a mask.”
“Otherwise, you’re at too great a risk to further spread infection, to further pack those emergency rooms, to further prevent people who have terrible accidents from getting cared for because the hospital is full of COVID,” the senator — who is also a physician — added.
The 63-year-old Cassidy continued: “I’m a conservative. I think you govern best when you govern closest to the people being governed. If a local community is having—their ICU is full and people at the local schools see they’ve got to make sure they stay open because otherwise children will miss out for another year of school and they put in policies, then the local official should be listened to. That is a conservative principle.”
“I do disagree with Gov. DeSantis,” Cassidy said. “Local officials should have control here. I don’t want top-down from Washington, D.C. I don’t want top-down from a governor’s office. Sometimes in cases of national defense, things like that. But if my hospitals are full, vaccination rate is low and infection rate is going crazy, local officials should be allowed to make those decisions.”
DeSantis' executive order opposing mask mandates is already facingmultiple lawsuits, many of which cite that children younger than 12 are ineligible to receive the vaccine whilepediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased.
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source: people.com
