Citing Parents’ Bill of Rights, DeSantis protects right of parents to decide question of masks in schools for their children

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by Florida parents, students, elected officials and community leaders as he called for a stop to school mask mandates, reinforcing that every parent should have the right to choose what is best for their child. At the event, Governor DeSantis announced that he will issue an executive order directing the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) to enter rulemaking in collaboration with the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) to protect parents’ freedom to choose whether their children wear masks.

“The federal government has no right to tell parents that in order for their kids to attend school in person, they must be forced to wear a mask all day, every day,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Many Florida schoolchildren have suffered under forced masking policies, and it is prudent to protect the ability of parents to make decisions regarding the wearing of masks by their children.”

The Governor’s Executive Order can be found HERE.

Today’s action is in response to several Florida school boards considering or implementing mask mandates in their schools after the Biden Administration issued unscientific and inconsistent recommendations that school-aged children wear masks. FDOH will enter rulemaking in collaboration with FDOE. This is consistent with HB 241 (Parents’ Bill of rights), which was signed into law on June 29. The bill outlines parental rights relating to a minor child’s education, upbringing and health.

Earlier this week, Governor DeSantis hosted a roundtable discussion about the impacts that mask wearing have in schools. Find the roundtable discussion HERE.

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