Friday, August 13, 2021

Biden admin backs Texas, Florida districts on mask mandates

 

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration on Friday offered its full-throated support for local cities and school boards in Texas and Florida that are defying orders by their Republican governors that prohibit mask-wearing mandates in schools.

In this Aug. 10, 2021, photo, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions related to school openings and the wearing of masks in Surfside, Fla. Top Republicans are battling school districts in their own states’ urban, heavily Democratic areas over whether students should be required to mask up as they head back to school. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)© Provided by Associated Press In this Aug. 10, 2021, photo, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions related to school openings and the wearing of masks in Surfside, Fla. Top Republicans are battling school districts in their own states’ urban, heavily Democratic areas over whether students should be required to mask up as they head back to school. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

In a pair of open letters from Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, the administration condemned the orders from Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida which contravene public health guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cardona also noted that federal COVID-19 relief funds for schools could be used to fill any financial gaps caused by penalties imposed on local school districts by state leaders.

Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) Superintendent René Gutiérrez discusses the approval and necessity for the school board to make local decisions on health and safety for their students and employees before the start of the new school year at all BISD schools during a BISD board of trustees special called board meeting Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, in Brownsville, Texas. COVID-19 positive cases continue to spike in Texas. The BISD board of trustees also approved legal counsel against Texas Governor Greg Abbott's school mask ban. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald via AP)© Provided by Associated Press Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) Superintendent René Gutiérrez discusses the approval and necessity for the school board to make local decisions on health and safety for their students and employees before the start of the new school year at all BISD schools during a BISD board of trustees special called board meeting Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, in Brownsville, Texas. COVID-19 positive cases continue to spike in Texas. The BISD board of trustees also approved legal counsel against Texas Governor Greg Abbott's school mask ban. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald via AP)

“The Department stands with these dedicated educators who are working to safely reopen schools and maintain safe in-person instruction,” Cardona wrote.

The two states are experiencing some of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the nation, driven by the spread of the more transmissible delta variant among their unvaccinated populations. The two states alone accounted for 40 percent of hospitalizations from the virus over the last week, the White House said Thursday.

Both Abbott and DeSantis have said they believe parents should decide whether their children wear masks in school. The CDC earlier this month recommended universal mask-wearing in K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status, to slow the spread of the variant.

The letters mark the sharpest-yet pushback by the Biden administration to the state policies, and come days after the president indicated he did not believe he had direct authority to overturn the governors' actions.

“I say to these governors: Please help. But if you aren’t going to help, at least get out of the way,” Biden said earlier this month. “The people are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.”

Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran has said he may recommend the state’s Board of Education withhold the salaries of the superintendent and school board members of districts that have instituted mask-mandates.

Cardona wrote that “any threat by Florida to withhold salaries from superintendents and school board members who are working to protect students and educators (or to levy other financial penalties) can be addressed using (federal virus relief) funds at the sole and complete discretion of Florida school districts.”

In addition to prohibiting mask mandates, Abbott's administration has said that schools do not need to conduct contact tracing for potential COVID-19 infections. Cardona's letter makes clear that federal funds can also be used for contact tracing.

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