Reasonable and necessary
The "evidence demonstrates that face mask policies that follow CDC guidance are, at this point in time, reasonable and consistent with the best scientific and medical and public opinion guidance at this time,” Cooper concluded in court Friday. Moreover, Cooper determined that the law doesn’t allow for a ban on mask mandates at all, rather, it provides an avenue for parents to challenge school boards that institute mask mandates to provide evidence that the mandate is reasonable and necessary.
On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that at least 10 school boards had defied the Governor's order and issued mask mandates anyway. Those districts include some of the largest in the state, resulting in over half of Florida's 2.8 million public school students being under a mask mandate.
DeSantis has, in turn, threatened to penalize districts by withholding salaries and funds if they defied his order.
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TODAY: A University of Arizona medical researcher reported recently that transmission among Arizona kids younger than 15 is “set to exceed those of all other age groups for the first time”. The report says “transmission among children” is “certainly driven by in-person instruction in the presence of the Delta variant”.
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One of those guidelines – wearing masks in indoor settings – will be difficult to follow when a new Arizona law that bans mask mandates in state-affiliated schools takes effect on 29 September. A recent court challenge to the law, filed by parents, teachers, school boards and other advocates for kids, notes that if schools aren’t allowed to impose Covid-19 mitigation measures, like masks, “students and teachers will get sick and some may die.”
In the meantime, Ducey, widely thought to have national political ambitions, has played hardball with mask-mandating school districts. He recently announced only districts “following all state laws” were eligible for $163m in federal grant money now in his control.
> The school mask showdown has only served to further divide many in this politically polarized state. It’s at least as divisive as a continuing recount of votes in Maricopa county, which encompasses the Phoenix area, that has been widely criticized as an attack on free and fair elections. The recount was ordered by Republicans in the Arizona senate supporting Donald Trump.
‘It’s only going to get worse’: mask war in Arizona schools ramps up as Covid cases soar
mandates from new education grants
That sparked a war of words with the Biden administration, which has said that federal funds could cover any withheld funds to educators. The administration has also repeatedly told DeSantis to "get out of the way."
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