Is a mask right for your child?

DeSantis protects right of parents to decide question of masks in schools for their children

Staff Reports

On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by Florida parents, students, elected officials and community leaders as he called for a stop to school mask mandates, reinforcing that every parent should have the right to choose what is best for their child.

Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 21-175 - Ensuring Parents’ Freedom to Choose Masks in Schools. It is directing the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) to enter rule making in collaboration with the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) to protect parents’ freedom to choose whether their children wear masks.

     This action is in response to several Florida school boards considering or implementing mask mandates in their schools after the Biden Administration issued unscientific and inconsistent recommendations that school-aged children wear masks. For instance, a study by the CDC details a COVID-19 outbreak that started July 3, 2021, in Provincetown, Massachusetts, involving 469 cases. It found that 75 percent of cases occurred in fully vaccinated people.

     FDOH will enter rule making in collaboration with FDOE. This is consistent with HB 241 (Parents’ Bill of rights), which was signed into law on June 29. The bill outlines parental rights relating to a minor child’s education, upbringing and health.

      “The federal government has no right to tell parents that in order for their kids to attend school in person, they must be forced to wear a mask all day, every day,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Many Florida schoolchildren have suffered under forced masking policies, and it is prudent to protect the ability of parents to make decisions regarding the wearing of masks by their children.”