The office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday threatened that the salaries of school board members and superintendents could be withheld for violating the governor's executive order prohibiting mask mandates.
In a statement to CBS4, the governor's office said that school officials who force students to wear masks could be subject to "financial consequences."
“With respect to enforcing any financial consequences for noncompliance of state law regarding these rules and ultimately the rights of parents to make decisions about their children’s education and health care decisions, it would be the goal of the State Board of Education to narrowly tailor any financial consequences to the offense committed. For example, the State Board of Education could move to withhold the salary of the district superintendent or school board members, as a narrowly tailored means to address the decision-makers who led to the violation of law.
“Education funding is intended to benefit students first and foremost, not systems," the statement added. "The Governor’s priorities are protecting parents’ rights and ensuring that every student has access to a high-quality education that meets their unique needs.”
DeSantis' ban on mask mandates in schools, signed on July 31, explains, among other reasons, that "forcing students to wear masks lacks a well-grounded scientific justification"; "masking children may lead to negative health and societal ramifications"; "children are at low risk of contracting a serious illness due to COVID-19 and do not play a significant role in the spread of the virus"; "forcing children to wear masks could inhibit breathing"; and "there is no statistically-significant evidence to suggest that countries with mask requirements have fared any better than those without mask requirements during the 2020-2021 school year."