DeSantis To School Boards: You Better Not Mandate Masking Kids

FLORIDA — Just in case there was any doubt on where Gov. Ron DeSantis stands on the issue, the governor issued an executive order Friday making it clear to school boards across the state that they cannot pass any rules making face masks mandatory in public schools.

DeSantis' order came after learning that several school boards were considering making masks mandatory in light of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's new recommendation that all school children mask up when they return to school next month.

"The Florida Department of Health will enter rule making in collaboration with the Florida Department of Education to protect parents’ freedom to choose whether their children wear masks," DeSantis said in a statement.

In his order, Executive Order 21-175, he noted that last year schools did not drive community transmission rates.

In fact, he said, a Brown University study analyzed COVID-19 data for schools in Florida and found no correlation with mask mandates.

"Despite recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 'guidance,' forcing students to wear masks lacks a well-grounded scientific justification," he said.

In fact, he said masking children may have negative consequences.

He maintained that forcing kids to wear masks could inhibit their breathing, and cause bacteria, parasites, fungi and other contaminants to collect in the masks, resulting in other illnesses.

Moreover, he said masks inhibit communications in the classroom and negatively impact student performance.

"We need our kids to breathe," DeSantis said. "There shouldn't be any coercive mandates on our schools."

Despite Florida now having one of the largest surges in coronavirus cases in the country, DeSantis vowed to fight any federal mandate requiring masks.

"I think our fear seeing some of those rumblings is that there will be an attempt from the federal level to push for mandatory masking of school children," DeSantis said during a roundtable discussion Monday. "I know our Legislature feels strongly about it. I know they're interested in coming in, even in a special session, to be able to provide protections for parents and kids who just want to breathe freely and don't want to be suffering under these masks during the school year."

DeSantis said studies have shown that 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."

That may have been true for the first version of the virus but the delta variant is a different animal, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.

She said the new delta variant of the coronavirus, which is now the dominant variant in the United States, is showing an uncanny ability to outsmart medical researchers.

"Eight in 10 sequence samples contain the delta variant," Walensky said. "In recent days, I have seen new scientific data from recent outbreak investigations showing that the delta variant behaves uniquely differently from past strains of the virus. ... Some vaccinated people infected with the delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread the virus to others. This new science is worrisome and, unfortunately, warrants an update to our recommendations."

Dr. Sonja O'Leary, chairwoman of the AAP Council on School Health said this news is especially worrisome because there is no approved vaccine for children age 11 and under and only 20 percent of children age 12 to 17 have been vaccinated.

"Combining layers of protection that include vaccinations, masking and clean hands hygiene will make in-person learning safe and possible for everyone."

The American Academy of Pediatrics said Florida has the third-largest amount of children with new cases of coronavirus in the country.

“From a pediatric standpoint, this is the worst that we’ve had since the pandemic started by far,” said Dr. Joseph Perno, the chief medical officer at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. "Our last seven days, we've seen more patients than any other seven days since the pandemic began. So we're seeing a dramatic increase in kids."

"In children less than 12 years of age, there's been an 87 percent increase, and in those children who are 12 to 19 years of age, it's an 84 percent increase," said Dr. Jason Salemi, associate professor of epidemiology at USF College of Public Health, who has studied the impact of the coronavirus on pediatric populations.

He said Florida has the second-highest number of pediatric hospitalizations in the country.

See related stories:

• CDC Recommends Mask In All Schools; DeSantis Will Fight Mandate
• Tampa Bay Hospitals Sound Alarm With Wave Of Delta Variant Cases
• Many Patch Readers Concerned About FL's COVID Surge: Survey