Gov. Ron DeSantis says he does not support stripping funding from the dozen Florida school districts that defied his ban on mandatory student masking. But he would support allowing parents to sue those districts if they could prove their children were harmed by the policy.
The governor’s comments come as the House pitches a $200 million cut to districts that refused to allow parents to opt their kids out of mandatory face mask policies.
The battle between the districts and the governor was eventually settled in the courts, with the governor winning. Large and urban districts like Duval, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange along with others, did eventually drop their requirements that students wear face coverings. The issue appeared settled until the Florida House recently rolled out a budget proposal that would reduce the budgets of the 12 districts that defied the governor by $200 million. The plan, developed by Rep. Randy Fine, targets the salaries of administrators who make $100,000 or more. The money would be redistributed to districts that did not have mask mandates.
