Fla. Districts That Required Masks Could Face $200 Million Punishment
By
Brooke Baitinger, South Florida Sun Sentinel
—
February 10, 2022
4 min read
First Graders Alex Albin, left, and Tyler Custodio wear masks in Amanda McCoy's first grade class at the newly-rebuilt Addison Mizner School in Boca Raton, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. Palm Beach County Schools opened the school year with a masking requirement with an opt-out option.
South Florida and Orlando school districts say they were trying to keep students and their families safe when they required students to wear masks on campus last year.
Legislators in Tallahassee say that in doing so, a dozen school districts broke Florida law and should face consequences. The Florida House of Representatives moved forward on Wednesday with a plan to punish the school districts that defied Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on face mask mandates for students last year.
The proposal, called Putting Parents First, would strip a total of $200 million from a dozen school districts that defied DeSantis. That includes Broward County, Palm Beach County, and Miami-Dade County school districts, as well as the Orange County school district in Orlando.
The money will come out of the salaries of about 1,600 non-teaching school employees that make over $100,000, and would be spread among the 55 school districts that didn’t impose mask mandates. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, recommended the proposal and suggested that the 12 districts had more money than they needed to pay “bureaucrats,” such as superintendents and administrators working in central offices, making more than double the starting salary of a school teacher.
House Democrats in the appropriations committee said they disagreed with the measure, calling it unfair and questioning its constitutionality.
They also questioned how Fine could say the move was not punitive, a point he maintained throughout the meeting.
Rep. Joseph Geller, D-Aventura, advocated on behalf of the parents who supported mask mandates.
“In a lot of cases, parents like me who didn’t want our students going to school where they would pick something up and bring it home,” he said, adding that his wife is recovering from cancer and other families surely have immunocompromised loved ones at home.
Rep. Ramon Alexander, D-Tallahassee, said he thought it was a mistake to limit local school boards who are elected to make decisions for their communities.
“I believe there are a lot of intended and unintended consequences,” he said, adding that even if it might be good to “trim the fat” from school systems, that should be up to local school boards to do the best thing for their community in a thoughtful and deliberate way.
A tale of state versus local control
By the summer of 2021, students and teachers had endured a school year of remote learning and isolation, which hampered instruction and put some students further behind in school.
State leaders decided it was time for students and teachers to return to campus, even as the delta variant spiked daily. The governor issued an executive order against requiring masks, warning school districts that were considering mandates to let parents choose.
When students returned, many had to quarantine due to exposure in their classes, and some of the most populous school districts determined that masks were necessary to protect kids, their families, and teachers.
As the school year progressed, school board members and superintendents sat through lengthy meetings where anti-mask protesters flooded public comment with misinformation and even threatened them and their families.
The feud continued for months, as state leaders threatened to withhold funds and remove School Board members. Finally, some of the School Boards banded together to take a stand against the governor’s ban and challenged it in court, including Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Alachua County school districts, among others.
Those districts questioned the state’s authority to pass such a rule that was contrary to federal guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Before those issues were resolved in court, DeSantis’ executive order was cemented in state law during a special legislative session in November. DeSantis signed HB 1B that prohibited vaccine and mask requirements in schools.
There was no immediate effect at the time, since the school district had already decided to make masks optional for everyone since the county had met a benchmark of positivity rates below 3%.
A few weeks later, the omicron variant burned through South Florida. Though omicron’s effects appeared less severe than the previous variants, positivity rates spiked again. South Florida’s school districts again mandated masks, but only for adults on campus.
Districts react
The Broward County Council of PTAs said in a statement that the measure to remove money from districts would hurt children in schools.
“As child advocates, we are very disappointed in the provision to fine school districts for responding to local conditions and community input and taking appropriate action to protect our children,” the statement reads. “Any financial penalties assessed on the district ultimately affects the education and well-being of our children.”
Next, the provision will be up for a vote on the House floor. The council said it would work with the legislature to remove the provision during the conference process with the Senate.
School Mask Mandates at a Glance
This information is no longer being updated. The last data update was on May 23, 2022.
On March 29, Gov. Kemp signed the “Unmask Georgia Students Act” which allows parents to exempt their child from a school mask requirement. The law went into effect immediately.
3. Iowa
On Sept. 13, 2021, a federal judge ordered Iowa to halt enforcement of its law banning mask mandates in schools. On Jan. 25, 2022, a federal appeals panel narrowed that injunction. Iowa’s attorney general announced the state is not enforcing the ban while awaiting further action from the court. On May 16, 2022 a U.S. Court of Appeals lifted the injunction.
In Utah, local health departments can issue 30-day school mask mandates with approval from the state or county government, according to the state’s top education official.
An Arkansas judge ruled on Dec. 29, that a law signed by the governor in April that prohibited local officials, including school boards, from setting mask mandates was unconstitutional. School districts have been able to set their own mask requirements since August when the judge put the law on hold.
3. South Carolina
On Sept. 28, a federal judge suspended South Carolina from enforcing the rule that banned school districts from requiring masks for students.
On Feb. 28, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington issued a joint announcement that mask requirements would end in their states effective March 12.
2. Connecticut
On Feb. 7, Gov. Lamont announced that the school mask rule would expire Feb. 28. He signed a bill on Feb. 15 that made the expiration date official.
3. Delaware
On Feb. 7, Gov. Carney amended his emergency order to allow his state-level school mask requirement to expire March 31. On Feb. 28, he announced that masks would no longer be required effective at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1.
4. District of Columbia
On March 8, the department of health released updated guidelines that recommend universal masking only when community COVID-19 levels are high.
5. Illinois
On Feb. 5, a judge issued a temporary restraining order on the governor's statewide mask requirement. On Feb. 25, the state supreme court vacated that order. On the same day, the governor announced he would lift the requirement on Feb. 28.
6. Kentucky
Kentucky's school mask mandate ended in September, when the state legislature voted to limit the governor’s emergency powers.
7. Louisiana
According to a State of Emergency proclamation issued Nov. 23, which was extended on Jan. 19, students were required to wear masks in schools, but districts could opt out of the mandate if they adopted an isolation and quarantine policy consistent with the state's department of health protocols. On Feb. 16, Gov. Bel Edwards extended the order without requiring masking in schools.
On Feb. 7, health officials said the state would drop its school mask requirement no later than March 31. On Feb. 24, the Oregon Health Authority announced the requirement would lift on March 19. However, on Feb. 28, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington issued a joint announcement that mask requirements would end in their states effective March 12.
On Feb. 17, Gov. Inslee announced the state's school mask requirement will end effective March 21. However, on Feb. 28, the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington issued a joint announcement that mask requirements would end in their states effective March 12.
NOTES In January 2022, the Missouri attorney general, Eric Schmitt, sued some school districts that required masks, citing a November ruling by a county judge that said local health orders tied to COVID-19 were illegal. (The ruling was interpreted differently by different districts.) The state’s treasurer announced he would also crack down on schools with mask mandates. In mid-March, Schmitt began dropping lawsuits against school districts that no longer required masks. On May 19, 2022 Schmitt announced new lawsuits against several districts that had reinstated mask requirements. On Feb. 23, 2022, New Hampshire’s governor announced the state was no longer recommending universal indoor masking and therefore schools have to end mask mandates, arguing they violate state education department rules. Soon after, the department advised districts that the mandates “are inconsistent with” their rules. There’s disagreement over whether districts still have the authority to require masks, but at least one district changed its policy in response. A bill that would have banned mask mandates was vetoed by Gov. Sununu in May 2022. Updated 5/23/2022 | Sources: Local media reports, Education Week reporting | Learn more here
Donald Trump speaks during a news conference held at Trump Tower on Sept. 6, 2024 in New York. His education actions since returning to the White House in January 2025 have drawn numerous lawsuits alleging he's overstepping his authority.
Kim Anderson, the executive director of the National Education Association, speaks during a demonstration at the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education on March 14, 2025, in Washington. The NEA and the American Federation of Teachers have both filed lawsuits seeking to block President Donald Trump's efforts to dismantle the Education Department.
All content on Education Week's websites is protected by copyright. No part of this publication shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Readers may make up to 5 print copies of this publication at no cost for personal, non-commercial use, provided that each includes a full citation of the source. For additional print copies, or for permission for other uses of the content, visit www.edweek.org/help/reprints-photocopies-and-licensing-of-content or email reprints@educationweek.org and include information on how you would like to use the content. Want to seamlessly share more EdWeek content with your colleagues? Contact us today at pages.edweek.org/ew-for-districts-learn-more.html to learn about how group online subscriptions can complement professional learning in your district or organization.
