Palm Beach County Schools Ask Legal To Check On Governor's Authority

GERMANY-HEALTH-VIRUS-EDUCATION

Photo: Getty Images

Florida school districts are scrambling after Governor DeSantis announced that he'll sign an executive order leaving the question over whether kids wear masks in school in the hands of parents.

Palm Beach County's interim Superintendent Michael Burke said on Thursday that he was considering a mask mandate, but...

"I'm a constitutional officer. If the governor or the Legislature passes a law, I will abide by it."

However, an executive order is NOT a law and the chairman of the Palm Beach School Board says he's instructing general counsel to look into whether DeSantis has the legal authority to prohibit mask mandates in the classroom.

The president of the local teachers union, the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association, says the governor doesn't have the authority, stating that the Florida constitution gives the power over those types of decision on local policymakers.

And Florida's largest statewide teachers union, the Florida Education Association put out a statement on Twitter, including a letter to the governor in which they ask him to allow Florida's citizens to have a voice by empowering the elected leaders of cities, counties and school districts to make decisions regarding the health and safety of students.

School Board Chair Frank Barbieri says that should legal counsel determine the expected order from the governor holds muster, there will be no mask mandate.

Either way, it was never decided that the school district was planning to make children wear masks this upcoming school year, which starts on August 10.

Burke said he was going to seek the advice of health officials and watch the delta variant closely.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content