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The Florida Board of Education unanimously found the eight remaining school districts that have school mask mandates without parental opt-outs in violation of state law. The districts, which include Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach County, were given 48 hours to comply or face funding reductions by the state equal to the salaries of the board members who’ve imposed the mandates.
Additionally, with Alachua and Broward School Districts having already incurred funding reductions, the Florida Board of Education unanimously voted to additionally withhold funds equal to the federal grants given directly to the school districts in violation of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution. The Alachua, Broward, Duval, Leon, Miami-Dade, and Orange Counties have filed new lawsuits challenging the state’s policy. The districts have already lost multiple cases in court.
In other news, Florida’s COVID-19 trend continued to improve Thursday with 3,841 new cases reported, a decline of greater than 1,000 cases over the prior Thursday. Another 142 fewer Floridians are hospitalized with COVID-19, leaving 4,059 hospitalizations statewide.