Skip to content Skip to footer

FL’s Capital City to Have School Mask Rules, Defying DeSantis’s Anti-Mask Order

“We have to do everything in our power to keep [children] safe,” Education Sec. Miguel Cardona said on “Meet the Press.”

A teacher sings a song with her kindergarten class during the first day of class at Laguna Niguel Elementary School in Laguna Niguel, California.

Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with a donation.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Sunday that the federal government will ensure school districts can adequately protect children without incurring financial penalties during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The Biden administration will compensate districts for any funding they lost from their home state as a result of trying to protect children’s lives, Cardona said on “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

“We have to do everything in our power to keep [children] safe,” Cardona said.

Cardona sought to reassure school districts after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Florida) threatened to impose penalties on school administration officials if they implement a masking mandate.

Schools “do not have to get the green light for [their] governor to use these funds,” Cardona said.

Leon County School District, which is home to Florida’s capital city of Tallahassee, said later on Sunday that it would join at least five other districts in enforcing masking rules for students and staff.

“I am aware that I am the first elected school superintendent to take such action. I am also aware, fully aware, of the consequences I may suffer,” Leon County schools superintendent Rocky Hanna said in a Facebook video message.

In making the announcement, Hanna directed some of his comments directly toward DeSantis.

“Governor, I do have an obligation to uphold the laws of the state of Florida,” Hanna said. “I have a greater obligation, however, to protect for the health, safety and welfare of the children in Tallahassee and Leon County.”

Last week the White House announced plans to launch civil rights investigations into states that were attempting to deny local school districts the ability to issue rules on masking in order to quell the spread of COVID-19 last week.

“Some politicians are trying to turn public safety measures — that is, children wearing masks in school — into political disputes for their own political gain,” Biden said last Wednesday. “We are not going to sit by as governors try to block and intimidate educators protecting our children.”

Urgent appeal for your support: Help us fight political repression.

Truthout urgently appeals for your support. Under pressure from an array of McCarthyist anti-speech tactics, independent journalists at Truthout face new and mounting political repression.

We rely on your support to publish movement journalism — in fact, we’re almost entirely funded by readers like you. Yet, donations are down at this moment of crisis. We may end this month in the red without additional help, so we’ve launched a fundraiser.

We have 48 hours to hit our $25,000 goal. Please contribute a tax-deductible gift to Truthout at this critical moment.