Florida considers private school vouchers if masks required

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Board of Education was holding an emergency meeting Friday to discuss awarding private school vouchers for children whose parents don’t want them to follow mask requirements in public schools.

The meeting was scheduled a week after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the departmentto come up with ways of punishing school districts that mandate mask-wearing in classrooms. DeSantis sees that as a violation of parental rights. DeSantis also cited Florida’s new Parents Bill of Rights law that says parents have the freedom to make decisions about their children’s health and education.

DeSantis said in his order that the rules could include withholding money from school districts or other actions allowed under Florida law.

Two Florida school districts have decided to follow recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and require masks when they restart classes next week because of dramatic rises in coronavirus infections. Florida now leads the country in COVID-19 related hospitalizations.

The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 rose from 12,516 on Thursday to 12,864, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Hospital data shows 2,680 of those patients required intensive care, using about 42% of the ICU beds in the state, compared to less than 20% they were using two weeks ago.

The CDC said the number of new cases being reported by the state have raised Florida's 7-day average to an all-time high of 18,120.

School boards in Duval County, home to Jacksonville, and Alachua County, home to Gainesville, decided this week to require mask-wearing indoors, citing the rise in hospitalizations.

The Duval County School Board is allowing parents to submit paperwork if they want their...