The battle over mask mandates is playing out in school board auditoriums, state and federal courts and on the national political stage 鈥� and it鈥檚 far from over.
Students with disabilities may have the most to lose.
Alisha Todd鈥檚 10-year-old son said he feels 鈥渢rapped.鈥� Todd asked 港澳天下彩not to use her son鈥檚 name to protect his privacy.
鈥淚 had brain surgery just a little over a month ago,鈥� the Palm Beach County fifth grader said. 鈥淎nd if I got COVID, I could die.鈥�
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The boy is one of tens of thousands of children in South Florida for whom COVID-19 presents a grave threat 鈥� kids who have disabilities, severe medical conditions or compromised immune systems.
Their parents鈥� perspective is simple: My mask protects you. Your mask protects me. If other people in schools aren鈥檛 wearing masks, their kids are unprotected.
Todd signed on to a federal lawsuit targeting state officials as well as local school districts around the state. The challenge claims that, by not mandating masks, and therefore making it too dangerous for these vulnerable students to attend in person, school districts are violating students鈥� constitutional right to a public education.
Palm Beach County public schools opened Aug. 10, initially with a mask-optional policy. Todd鈥檚 son has been doing packets of worksheets at home.
His mom feels like he has few options.
鈥淗e's getting denied his education,鈥� Todd said. 鈥淭hat's really what it is.鈥�
Christina Pushaw, press secretary for Gov. Ron DeSantis, wrote in an emailed statement that the parents鈥� argument is flawed in its premise, because, as the governor has often claimed, there isn鈥檛 enough evidence that masks protect against transmission.
Medical experts in Florida and around the country call that misinformation.
How We Got Here
On July 30, DeSantis issued prohibiting school districts from mandating facial coverings. His administration argues that such policies infringe on parents鈥� rights to make educational and healthcare decisions for their children, which the Legislature enshrined in state law earlier this year.
DeSantis鈥� order was followed up with new regulations from the state departments of education and health 鈥� rules that stipulate parents must have the chance to 鈥渙pt out鈥� their kids from wearing masks.
Most school districts opened with optional mask policies. Alachua and Broward counties were the first to push back, mandating masks despite pressure from the state. The Florida Board of Education called an emergency conference call last Tuesday to move forward with punishing the districts.
The next day, though, more school districts entered the fray 鈥� including some of the biggest. Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and counties voted to require facial coverings with only medical exemptions. Others have since followed suit and more are considering tightening their policies.
Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran wrote to Alachua and Broward superintendents and school board members last Friday, alerting them he planned to make good on his threat to withhold their salaries if they didn鈥檛 change course.
A few hours later, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona released a statement pledging to use federal coronavirus relief funds to reimburse local school leaders who suffer financial penalties from their states 鈥渇or imposing CDC-recommended COVID-19 prevention strategies.鈥�
Cardona wrote in the statement: 鈥淭oday, I also spoke directly to the Superintendents of Broward and Alachua County schools to reassure them that the President and his Administration stand with them and with all educators who put student and staff health and education first.鈥�
Meanwhile, a Leon County circuit judge advanced a legal challenge targeting the new state rules. In that lawsuit, parents argue the state is shirking its constitutional duty to provide 鈥渟afe鈥� schools and overstepping by infringing on the authority of local school boards.
The trial will begin Monday morning. Judge John Cooper will also consider whether to combine the lawsuit with another from Broward County, Elvin Dowling on behalf of his son 鈥� who has asthma.
What About Students With Disabilities?
Under federal law, the huge umbrella of students with disabilities includes not only kids with conditions typically thought of as disabilities but also common medical conditions like asthma and diabetes.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students in this broad category are guaranteed 鈥渁 free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment.鈥�
鈥淚n plain terms, that just means students with disabilities have a right to go to school and sit in classrooms, like every other student,鈥� said Bacardi Jackson, a Miami-based attorney specializing in children鈥檚 rights for the Southern Poverty Law Center.
In Broward County, 37,000 students qualify, according to a letter from the district administration explaining to state officials why the school board mandated masks.
During last week鈥檚 emergency conference call with the state Board of Education, Broward schools interim superintendent Vickie Cartwright reiterated that argument. She had been on the job for less than three weeks at that point.
鈥淭his is getting into territories where, which law do we start applying here?鈥� Cartwright said.
鈥淏ecause when we start taking away the rights of students with disabilities, because we're unable to provide them with a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment 鈥� that is something that is very alarming to us,鈥� she said.
For Alisha Todd鈥檚 10-year-old in Palm Beach County, the 鈥渓east restrictive environment鈥� is in school. But before the school board鈥檚 reversal last week, face-to-face instruction was out of the question, because masks were optional.
Todd鈥檚 son is on the autism spectrum. He also has a rare neurological disorder called hereditary hyperekplexia, which causes muscle stiffness. He recently underwent surgery for a condition called Chiari malformation, which causes the brain to herniate out of the skull cavity. During that procedure, doctors discovered another ailment: arachnoid web, which constricts the movement of cerebrospinal fluid between the brain and the spinal cord.
Todd said she plans to consult her son鈥檚 medical team before deciding if it鈥檚 safe to send him to school.
If her son鈥檚 doctors advise against returning, Todd isn鈥檛 sure what she鈥檚 going to do. Florida Virtual School doesn鈥檛 offer the specialized curriculum he needs because of his disabilities. There鈥檚 also a program called 鈥渉ospital homebound,鈥� which is mostly online and includes little instruction time.
Todd called this, 鈥渜uite frankly, a terrible option.鈥�
Asked what he thought about the lawsuit, Todd鈥檚 son said: 鈥淚 feel like my mom is being really cool, and she's trying her best to make sure I'm safe and stuff,鈥� he said.
鈥淎nd I feel pretty chill about it. I鈥檓 not gonna go, 鈥極h, no, oh no! It鈥檚 the end of the world!鈥� But I also want to stay safe.鈥�
