Biden administration offers financial help to Florida school leaders defying DeSantis

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TALLAHASSEE — The Biden Administration further inserted itself into Florida’s mask fight on Friday by offering to pay the salaries of Florida school board members who lose state funds by defying Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on local K-12 mask mandates.

In a letter to DeSantis and his Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote that school districts stripped of state funding for passing local coronavirus safety measures can use federal relief dollars to replenish the cash. Cardona said he was “deeply concerned” by DeSantis’ efforts preventing schools from requiring students to wear masks amid a surge in Covid infections, and that his agency could reach the schools directly if need be.


“We are eager to partner with [Florida Department of Education] on any efforts to further our shared goals of protecting the health and safety of students and educators,” Cardona wrote. “If FLDOE does not wish to pursue such an approach, the Department will continue to work directly with the school districts and educators that serve Florida’s students.”

DeSantis’ spokeswoman Christina Pushaw on Friday night criticized the White House for wanting to spend funds “on the salaries of superintendents and elected politicians, who don’t believe that parents have a right to choose what’s best for their children, than on Florida’s students, which is what these funds should be used for.”

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https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2021/08/13/biden-administration-offers-financial-help-to-florida-school-leaders-defying-desantis-1390026

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1. K&R

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. The Secretary of Education just sent a letter to school district superintendents in Florida,

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Biden admin backs Texas, Florida districts on mask mandates

Link to tweet

WASHINGTON -- 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 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.

“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.