ORLANDO, Fla. — Two Florida school districts will start to lose state funds if they don't comply with Gov. Ron DeSantis' executive order on mask mandates, the state's education commissioner announced Friday.
What You Need To Know
- Board of Education finds Alachua, Broward in noncompliance on school masks order
- Education commissioner announced penalty plans on Friday
- Alachua and Broward have 48 hours from receipt of the order to comply
- READ: Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran's announcement
- RELATED: Florida Board of Education finds Alachua, Broward defied school masks order
Alachua and Broward counties have 48 hours from receipt of the order from Commissioner Richard Corcoran to comply with DeSantis' order on mask mandates in the schools, or the state will begin penalizing the school districts by withholding state funds "on a monthly basis, an amount equal to 1/12 of the total annual compensation of the school board members who voted to impose the unlawful mask mandates."
The funds being withheld will continue until each district complies, and other penalties could also be imposed.
The school districts are requiring mask mandates, but students can opt out with a medical note from a doctor. The state says that does not follow the spirit of DeSantis' executive order, which is based on the state's interpretation of Florida's new parents' bill of rights law. DeSantis says that the law gives parents the right to decide whether their kids have to wear face coverings at school.
The Florida Board of Education voted Tuesday at an emergency meeting to find Alachua and Broward County public schools in noncompliance with an executive order. However, it left the decision on whether to penalize the school districts to Corcoran, a former state legislator who was appointed education commissioner by DeSantis.
Three other school districts have since decided to defy the executive order — Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Broward counties.
Despite this pressure, the Alachua County School Board, which serves nearly 30,000 students in the Gainesville area, voted Tuesday night to extend its mask mandate for another two months, WJXT reported. Alachua's mandate requires a doctor's note, violating the governor's executive order to let students opt out without requiring any medical recommendations, referrals, or permissions, the station reported.
In Broward County, the state's second-largest district with 261,000 students, two teachers and an assistant teacher died from COVID-19 last week.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.