face mask

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and other Republicans from across the country urged an appeals court this week to uphold a federal judge’s ruling that blocked a mask requirement on airplanes and other forms of transportation during the pandemic.

Breaking from efforts by Florida lawmakers to punish school districts that imposed mask mandates during the pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday directed Florida’s new education commissioner to ignore a plan that would have made the districts ineligible for $200 million.

Attorney General Ashley Moody has filed a lawsuit challenging requirements that people wear masks in airports and on planes, trains and buses. The requirement is in effect until April 18th.

House and Senate budget negotiators on Tuesday revamped a plan that called for shifting $200 million away from school districts that required students to wear masks last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We've got to stop with this COVID theater," Gov. DeSantis told masked Middleton High School students visiting USF Wednesday. "So if you want to wear it, fine, but this is ridiculous."

Twelve Florida’s public school districts will see reduced budget increases under a plan moving ahead in the Florida House. That proposal now has the backing of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who initially said he did not support reductions to districts that defied his effort to ban mandatory school mask policies.

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.

Conflict is erupting over a House education budget item that would strip $200 million from a dozen local school districts that defied Gov. Ron DeSantis’ effort to ban mask mandates that did not allow parents to opt-out.

The Florida Department of Education is trying to quash a federal cease-and-desist order issued in a fight over local school mask mandates.The federal government issued the order after the State Board of Education began withholding additional funding from Broward and Alachua County School Districts.

Physicians and other health professionals issued a call Monday - hours before a special session in Tallahassee - for Florida lawmakers to reject any bans on COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates.