Gov. Ron DeSantis Wins Mask Mandate Ban For Florida Schools After Filing Appeal

The mask mandate ban issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis for schools in Florida has been reinstated following the ruling of an appeals court.

On Friday, the 1st District Court of Appeal overturned the two-day stay issued by a judge in Tallahassee that delayed the mask mandate ban in schools from being enforced.

“When a public officer or agency seeks appellate review, which is the case here, there is a presumption under the rule in favor of a stay, and the stay should be vacated only for the most compelling of reasons,” the court order stated.

“Given the presumption against vacating the automatic stay, the stay should have been left in place pending appellate review.”

Christina Pushaw, a spokesperson for DeSantis, praised the decision of the appeals court after news of the ruling. “The rule requiring ALL Florida school districts to protect parents’ rights to make choices about masking kids is BACK in effect!” she tweeted.

The reinstatement of the mask mandate ban means those who defy it could face financial penalties such as the docking of salaries for school board members who voted to enforce safety guidelines.

A day before the ruling, the Department of Education announced it has created a grant program to aid ​​school districts that impose mask mandates and other COVID-19 safety measures to protect their staff and students amid the pandemic

“Every student across the country deserves the opportunity to return to school in-person safely this fall, and every family should be confident that their school is implementing policies that keep their children safe,” Miguel Cardona, the U.S. Secretary of Education, said in a statement.

“We should be thanking districts for using proven strategies that will keep schools open and safe, not punishing them.”