DeSantis’ office says salaries of officials who require masks for students may be withheld

Florida school superintendents who require masks for students without giving them a way to opt out could have their salaries withheld, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said Monday.

DeSantis last week barred local school districts from requiring students to wear masks amid a rise in cases, but at least one Florida school district said they will be mandatory when classes begin Wednesday.

School is resuming in Florida in a surge of Covid-19 cases fueled by the more transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus.

The superintendent of schools for Leon County, which includes Tallahassee, the state capital, said Monday that masks would be temporarily required for all students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Parents will be able to opt out for medical or psychological reasons, but not for political ones.

“If something happened and things went sideways for us this week and next week as we started school, and heaven forbid we lost a child to this virus — I can’t just simply blame the governor of the state of Florida,” Superintendent Rocky Hanna said.