Last remaining public school mask mandate expiring Nov. 20

MaskGraphic
This put all public schools in line with the Governor's July order.

Starting Nov. 20, no public school student in the state will be under a mandatory mask policy that does not allow a parent to opt out of the requirement.

That means that after a months-long struggle with defiant school boards, Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ executive order issued in July is at last the status quo. He prohibited school districts from mandating masks without offering parents to opt out of sending their child to school with a mask.

Alachua County became the last to lift its mask mandate Nov. 10; the official policy goes into effect Nov. 12. The only other school district to open with the facial covering requirement, Broward County schools, will no longer require a medical excuse to go without a mask starting Nov. 20. There, parents can also opt out of the requirement, as Gov. DeSantis wished.

Florida Politics has been keeping track of all local rules on face coverings as the pandemic recedes. (For a look at rules predating DeSantis’ executive order preempting such actions, click here.)

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Alachua County Schools

The Alachua County School Board Nov. 10 agreed that beginning Nov. 12 all students in all grades will be able to opt their child out of wearing a mask, according to a school district news release. Students will still be required to wear masks on school buses, however, due to federal regulations, the news release said. The policy started started as a two-week mandate when school started the Aug. 10. On Oct. 5, the School Board voted to allow an opt-out for high school students, as the high school population had the opportunity to get vaccinated.

Bay County Schools

The district requires all district employees to wear masks when social distancing is not possible, including in classrooms, on buses, and offices in schools or within the district, News Channel 7 reports.

Brevard County Schools

Parents can now opt their children out of wearing a mask to school, according to News 6. 

Broward County Schools

The Broward County School Board voted on Nov. 10 to make masks completely optional for all grade levels starting Nov. 20, according to  a school district news release. The state’s second largest school district had mandated masks and was part of a lawsuit challenging the Governor’s ban on mandates.

Duval County Schools

The School Board lifted its mandate on masks for students and employees on Oct. 29, returning to its policy at the start of the school year. That policy allows parents to opt out of sending their child to school with a mask, WJXT Channel 4 reports.

Gadsden County Schools

The district initially planned to start the school year with a mask mandate in place in all school buildings and buses, WCTV reports. But the district has since made the policy optional, The Gadsden County Times reports.

Hernando County Schools

The School Board voted to instate a mask mandate for students, but to allow parents to opt children out if they fill out a form available online, News Channel 8 reports. The district on Oct. 26 voted to make masks optional for all students, the Hernando Sun reports.

Hillsborough County Schools

The School Board has ended the district’s mask mandate that required a  a medical opt-out. Parents will still need to fill out a form for their child to go without a mask, but won’t need a medical excuse. The district had previously enacted a mandatory mask policy.

Indian River Schools

The School Board voted to impose a mask mandate with no opt outs, but the policy was allowed to expire on Sept. 23, a district spokeswoman said.

Lee County Schools

The district where DeSantis announced an executive order forbidding mask mandates imposed a mandate anyway. Lee County officials required masks at the start of school, but allowed parents to opt children out. After the court ruling against the state, interim Superintendent Ken Savage on Aug. 31 dropped any opt-out provision and required masks for all students briefly. But in September, the opt-out was restored.

Leon County Schools

Leon County Schools’ requirements in October were brought into compliance with DeSantis order, allowing parents to opt out of the policy, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. The district was requiring masks for students from prekindergarten through eighth grade and only allowing parents to only opt students out with a doctor’s note. That policy took Aug. 30. The district reversed that plan on the last day of summer after threats from the Department of Education but returned to the mandate as cases rose.

Manatee County Schools

After 177 reported cases of COVID-19 in the first week of school, Manatee County School Board members voted to instate a temporary mask mandate with a written-note opt-out, according to the Bradenton Herald. The mandate expired on Oct. 29.

Marion County Schools

The school district as of Aug. 19 implemented a mask mandate in schools with a parent opt-out, according to News 6, Employees must have a medical reason to opt out. But masks were made completely optional on Oct. 22.

Miami-Dade County Schools

Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced on Nov. 9 that masks would now be completely optional in the largest school district in Florida, the Associated Press reports. Masks had been mandatory for all students indoors and on school buses, the School Board decided before school began in August. On Nov. 2, masks were made optional for high school and middle school students, NBC 6 South Florida reports.

Monroe County Schools

The district started the year with masks required and made an opt-out form available to parents who don’t want children required to wear masks, NBC 6 South Florida reports. The requirement was dropped in late October, the Key West Citizen reports.

Nassau County Schools

According to Action News Jax, the School Board voted to put a mask mandate in place, allowing parents to opt out. The mandate expired on Oct. 7.

Orange County Schools

The Orange County School Board voted Aug. 24 to require masks of all students, kindergarten through 12th grade, at least Oct. 30, reported Spectrum News 13. But the mandate was allowed to expire on Nov. 1, Orlando Weekly reports

Osceola County Schools

The school district is requiring masks for students in kindergarten through 8th grade and allows parents to opt their students out, according to News 6. But after an outbreak at a Celebration School forced all students there onto virtual learning for the time being, the board is likely to discuss a full mandate on Sept. 7.

Palm Beach County Schools

Beginning on Nov. 15, the Palm Beach School District will allow parents to opt students out of a mask mandate, The Palm Beach Post reports. The district previously set triggers for the mandatory mask policy to become optional, one of those being when vaccines are approved for children as young as 5, WPBF reports. The district also wants positivity rates of under 8%.

Sarasota Public Schools

Student masks became optional but strongly encouraged on Monday, Sept. 27, according to ABC Action News. The district made them mandatory but the requirement automatically stopped when the county’s positivity rate dropped to less than 8%. On Oct. 5, the board repealed the policy completely.

Seminole County Schools

Student masks will be fully optional on Nov. 1, according to WKMG News.

St. Johns County Schools

While the district still has no policy on student masking even after the reported death of a 17-year-old there, the district as of Aug. 25 implemented a requirement for all school employees to wear masks, News4Jax reports.

St. Lucie County Schools

After about 500 students missed the first day of school for various COVID-19-related issues, the School Board voted to mandate masks for students, WPBF reports. Parents may opt their children out of the policy. There is no requirement for faculty or staff to mask up.

Suwanne County Schools

Masks are optional in the district, but officials did ask for guidance from Attorney General Ashley Moody on whether the recent circuit court ruling allowed a mandatory mandate. Moody said unless the courts on appeal rule DeSantis’ executive order invalid, the district must comply.

Volusia County Schools

The school district required masks for all students as of Sept. 7 but then added a parental opt-out on Sept. 14, Spectrum News 13 reported.

COUNTIES

Broward County

Effective July 30, employees and visitors to county-owned and county-leased facilities will be required to wear a facial covering indoors regardless of vaccination status, the county said on July 28. In reimposing the mask requirement, the county cited the surge in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the county, fueled by the delta variant.

Miami-Dade

According to The Associated Press, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced on July 28 that masks were once again required in all indoor county facilities for the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. The requirement does not extend to private businesses, but she urged employers to require vaccines for employees and to put masking requirements back in place.

Orange

Mayor Jerry Demings, on July 28, put in place a requirement for masks inside all county facilities. He went a step further, requiring vaccinations for more than 4,200 non-union county employees, according to The Associated Press. Of note, Walt Disney World was reinstating mask requirements beginning on July 30.

COUNTIES

Effective July 30, employees and visitors to county-owned and county-leased facilities will be required to wear a facial covering indoors regardless of vaccination status, the county said on July 28. In reimposing the mask requirement, the county cited the surge in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the county, fueled by the delta variant.

Miami-Dade

According to The Associated Press, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced on July 28 that masks were once again required in all indoor county facilities for the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. The requirement does not extend to private businesses, but she urged employers to require vaccines for employees and to put masking requirements back in place.

Orange

Mayor Jerry Demings, on July 28, put in place a requirement for masks inside all county facilities. He went a step further, requiring vaccinations for more than 4,200 non-union county employees, according to The Associated Press. Of note, Walt Disney World was reinstating mask requirements beginning on July 30.

Palm Beach

Starting at 12:01 a.m., Monday, Aug. 2, Palm Beach County is reinstating its requirement that all employees and members of the public who enter county and county-leased buildings wear a face mask. The change is due to the CDC recommendation that vaccinated people should wear masks indoors, along with the high rate of COVID-19 transmission in the community, county officials said. “Law Enforcement officials are authorized to issue a trespass warning and remove any individuals who are not in compliance with this policy,” the July 30 announcement states. The action also applies to county transit vehicles and the airport.

CITIES

Boynton Beach

Boynton Beach on July 28 reinstated facial coverings for city employees and customers in city-owned buildings regardless of vaccination status, effective on July 29.

Coral Springs

As of July 27, the Broward County municipality reinstated a policy requiring all individuals entering city-owned buildings to wear masks. A Coral Springs spokeswoman said the current surge of COVID-19 cases prompted the city’s manager, emergency manager and medical director to conclude that steps needed to be taken to protect people and limit COVID-19 transmission.

Deerfield Beach

The city announced on Aug. 4 that beginning that day, all employees at city-run facilities would be required to wear a mask due to the effects of the delta variant and the new rise in cases. The city is also encouraging residents to utilize online resources to conduct their business with the city.

Key Biscayne

Key Biscayne Mayor Michael Davey announced Aug. 1 the village will require masks in all government facilities, the Miami Herald reports. The requirement went into effect Aug. 2.

Key West

The prominent tourist destination once again requires masks inside all government buildings, according to the Miami Herald. The requirement went into effect on Aug. 2 amid a surge in cases in South Florida. The requirement applies to visitors and staff.

Lauderhill

The city reinstated masks for city employees and any members of the public who enter city buildings last week, ahead of the change in CDC recommendations, said Mayor Ken Thurston. He said it was because of the increasing number of cases in the community. Anyone who does not comply will be asked to leave the premises, he said. “It’s what we have to do to keep society safe,” said Thurston, who is fully vaccinated.

Palm Beach

The Town of Palm Beach imposed a mandatory mask policy, but only inside town-owned buildings, according to WPBF News. The new rules went into effect as of July 27 and applied to both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. The town will also start releasing weekly reports on infection rates within the jurisdiction.

Weston

Effective July 26, Weston reinstated masks for all city employees and members of the public to enter city buildings, according to the city website.

Staff Reports


88 comments

  • Sonja Fitch

    July 27, 2021 at 12:35 pm

    Proud Duffus Desantis? Duffus Desantis Florida is number one ! You are willingly slaughtering Floridians with Covid! Lead with your brain not your ass! Save lives with policies that are common Good! Better yet get out!

    • Jim Distler

      July 27, 2021 at 4:24 pm

      Slaughter? oh pipe down of 73,000 cases last week, there were 319 deaths that’s .004% hardly a crisis about that many die by gun fire in Chicago. Go away with your drama and theatrics.

      • Kay Ewing

        July 31, 2021 at 8:29 am

        WHO CARES ABOUT Chicago gun deaths ??? I DON’T LIVE IN Chicago !!! I Live In FLA — & WHY Should You care WHO dies — UNTIL IT’S ONE OF YOURS !!
        ….Then it’s too late —Like it is for OVER 6000,000 People that have died … NO PITY for STUPIDITY !!!!

        • Anna

          August 15, 2021 at 5:35 pm

          My neighbor’s aunt makes 62 every hour on the internet..iib she has been without work for eight months but the previous month her revenue was 19022 only working on the laptop 5 hours a day..

          check this …… http://PayBuzz1.Com

      • Patrick DEANE

        August 27, 2021 at 4:11 pm

        319 deaths are 319 deaths too much. I hope your death is treated with a bit more respect.

        • Mike

          September 20, 2021 at 10:43 am

          Approx 2600-2900 die from car accidents in Florida per year. 2600-2900 deaths are too much. I hope your death is treated with more respect.

          We should stop driving cars since every car driven is a ticking metal time bomb.

          Do you not see how ridiculous you sound?

          • Tjb

            October 8, 2021 at 9:11 am

            Without seat-belts the number of deaths would be higher. Wear a mask and save a life.

      • Tjb

        October 6, 2021 at 5:43 pm

        Let give DeSantis some credit. Florida has 6.5% of the USA population, but it has 8% of the USA Covid deaths.
        DeSantis’s Florida leads the nation in the highest percentage of Covid death. Ron may not be a so-called socialist, but can we give recognition to Ron for having the highest death rate by percentage of the population

    • zhombre

      July 29, 2021 at 6:07 pm

      Maybe Andrew Gillum could take another shot at running for governor. After rehab.

      • Beth Stone

        August 5, 2021 at 4:03 pm

        I believe he’s done with rehab. I wish he had won. He wouldn’t be acting like a dictator.

        • Jason Gilmour

          August 11, 2021 at 2:25 pm

          So Cuomo from New York is not a dictator and squashed all citizen rights.. Definition (Dictator) Desantis is given you the Freedom of Choice to take responsibility in your own hands, you choose what is best for you.. Definition (Individual Freedom) So he can not be a dictator, he is given you Free Choice & you have a problem with that? Oh maybe you would like to be a slave & have no choice.

          • Patrick Deane

            August 27, 2021 at 4:16 pm

            The belief that your personal freedom
            outweights others
            personal safety.

          • tjb

            October 8, 2021 at 12:38 pm

            DeSantis wants to give parents the right to determine if their children need to wear a mask to school. Will he give women the right and choice to chose what they do with their bodies, such as abortions?

    • Bobbie Lynn Edmundson

      August 2, 2021 at 7:59 am

      Also its peoples responsibilty to protect themselves. You can shoose to wear a mask and you can choose to get the vaccine. Dont blame others for the ignorance of people. Aint noo e telling them they cant wear a mask. So instead of blaming thea mayor try blaming the ignorant people tjat just want someone to blame

      • Beth Stone

        August 5, 2021 at 4:08 pm

        When it comes to health care people do not behave responsibly much of the time. The unvaccinated did not behave responsibly and look where we are now. With a population in Florida that is either very sick or dead. I guess what you’re saying is if someone shoots me from behind, it’s not their fault. It’s my fault because it was my responsibility to protest myself.

        • Truth

          August 11, 2021 at 3:17 pm

          So what you are saying is that all people are ignorant and need to be told how to live their lives and be guided like sheep? Masks don’t protect you, if anything it is hurting your immunity from other germs. Which, in turn will cause you to get sick more easily, and have it more severely. The CDC has put out multiple times masks don’t work, the vaccine doesn’t work. Move to a state that’s not willing to protect you constitutional rights, I’m going to make a wild assumption that’s where you came from and are trying to ruin Florida too.

          • Patrick Deane

            August 27, 2021 at 4:19 pm

            The CDC states masks and vaccines work.
            You need guidance and information instead of the lies and fallacies. Trumpers are brainwashed.

          • A concern American Citizen

            October 6, 2021 at 5:45 pm

            You Truth is BS.

    • John J Murphy Jr

      August 3, 2021 at 6:42 pm

      I suggest either you lost your medications or you have that crazy sickness called TDS…

    • Sandra Helmsorig

      August 9, 2021 at 9:31 pm

      Sonja if you don’t like what Governor DeSantis says, you have the option of moving out of Florida. No one asked you to come and criticize the best Governor that Florida has had in the past 50 years that I have lived here. He cares about everyone and he is correct. Government should NOT be dictating policy of children. They work for US and it is the parents responsibility whether they want their children is masks or NOT!!

      • Love or let die

        August 15, 2021 at 6:19 pm

        Yea, we should not force the children to be vaccinated to attend school in Florida as required by Florida law.. DeSantis needs to get rid of the law so we have the freedom of choice. Long live polio, chicken pox, measles,mumps, rubella and other virus infections. Safety for school children is trumped by freedom of choice.

      • JoAnne

        August 16, 2021 at 7:31 am

        Agreed. Please move. There are plenty of blue states that need your assistance to deteriorate.

      • Patrick Deane

        August 27, 2021 at 4:24 pm

        Thankfully more intelligent heads have prevailed.
        DeathSantis has been proved wrong, and you are mistaken
        about the role of government.
        It is your decision to not use a seat belt so then be punished. Your logic is flawed

      • sharman Rodriguez

        August 27, 2021 at 8:10 pm

        Sandra Helmsorig: I believe we may have all been here before our illustrious governor decided to endanger our children. Tallahasse’s population is small and we have already had children die from Covid-19.His school mask mandate BAN has been ruled UNLAWFUL and yet he plans to appeal? Really?! Any parent who does not follow protocol for their children should be ruled as neglectful and abusive! Our children are precious! How dare you and our governor minimize the death of even one child. “Best Governor”? He is a politician with an agenda and could not care less that our kids are getting sick and dying.

    • Steven J Eide

      August 10, 2021 at 9:42 am

      Sonja the Fitch, that 99.9997% recovery rate is absolute MURDER, isn’t it!!
      By those standards, you’re demand masks for the remainder of your miserable LIFE!

      • Tjb

        October 6, 2021 at 5:47 pm

        Give DeSantis some credit. Florida has 6.5% of the USA population, but it has 8% of the USA Covid deaths.
        DeSantis’s Florida leads the nation in the highest percentage of Covid death. Ron may not be a so-called socialist, but can we give recognition to Ron for having the highest death rate by percentage of the population

    • SANDY OESTREICH

      October 26, 2021 at 7:50 pm

      Ahhh, but DeSantis Does lead with his Other-Party brain (notice the lower case there?). He for some cruel reason apparently needs to kill all our children by contamination by Covid IN SCHOOLS, POSSIBLY BY THE GOPS’ POISON? Seeing De Santis at his worst every day should REMIND US CLEARLY WHO TO VOTE FOR—>ANYBODY BUT DE SANTIS, (Best worry about his kids he pops out every year, as they will grow up under De Santis’s regime…GOD HELP US ! SO, Let’s nip that in the bud and vote that guy OUTTA’ OFFICE FURIOUSLY!

  • Rick

    July 27, 2021 at 4:55 pm

    Hey you lazy COVID pussies. Get vaccinated! I am fully vaccinated and do not think I should have to mask anywhere, especially to protect you assholes that have not been vaccinated!

    • rich

      July 27, 2021 at 9:16 pm

      what it shows is that the vaccines do not work, between 40% to 60% off hospitalized in the UK are vaccinated. They may say it is to protect the unvaccinated but it is really to control the population. Wake up to what is happening, this was predicted months ago the Dems have to keep COVID going for the foreseeable future.

      • Zita

        July 28, 2021 at 12:58 am

        Very true!!!

      • Phil Morton

        July 28, 2021 at 5:51 am

        You left out this part: “COVID-19 is spreading more quickly in those who have received only one dose of vaccines.” BBC

        • zhombre

          July 29, 2021 at 6:12 pm

          Meaning they were not fully vaccinated? I got the J&J one and done. Worth getting vaxxed in spite of the risk. And I remain anti-mask after vaxx.

          • Steven J Eide

            August 10, 2021 at 9:45 am

            I got the better equivalent, NATURAL vaccination via Covid19 itself. Antibodies have lasted ONE YEAR SO FAR. The Vax manufacturers have NO CLUE how long their respective concoctions will last.

      • tjb

        July 30, 2021 at 11:38 am

        Sir Patrick Vallance
        @uksciencechief
        ·
        Jul 19
        Correcting a statistic I gave at the press conference today, 19 July. About 60% of hospitalisations from covid are not from double vaccinated people, rather 60% of hospitalisations from covid are currently from unvaccinated people.

        • King Stephen Jehosephat Eide XXVI (Just call me "Your Majesty")

          August 10, 2021 at 9:49 am

          Sir Patrick Vallance; the cat’s out of the bag now. You’re on record, lying to the audience. Tsk Tsk Tsk

      • Bobbie Lynn Wyrick Edmundson

        August 2, 2021 at 8:04 am

        So if the vacine dosen’t work do you really think the mask does. I think not. If it did do ya really think there would be another outbreak. No!!! Thos crap is like wvry other disease that we have jad. It just has to run ots course. If ya get sick stay home.

        • sharman Rodriguez

          August 2, 2021 at 9:20 am

          Ummm really? The vaccine does work. So far, no one who is fully vaccinated has died from the variant. As far as variants go, viruses MUTATE! Always have and always will. It is what viruses do. And as far as our governor is concerned, by allowing the ignorant to remove their masks, he is endangering everyone, including break-thru infections and children who cannot yet receive the vaccine.

      • Fred Dobbs

        August 3, 2021 at 9:29 am

        Paranoid personality disorder =They may say it is to protect the unvaccinated but it is really to control the population

      • rich

        August 10, 2021 at 9:04 am

        rich here again. get vaccinated!! This is not a lie! I was wrong!

      • sharman Rodriguez

        August 15, 2021 at 9:55 pm

        Rich! Ignorance is bliss, as they say. The vaccines do indeed work. There are break-through infections due to the variant (Mutations). ALL vaccines mutate which is why there are several different flu shots and it changes from year to year. Right now, the Delta variant is hitting hard. Particularly in children who cannot get vaccinated. Adults and those over 11 need to vaccinate in order to protect these kids. Hospital beds are full! Wake up. This is NOT about the “Dems” or “Population control”! Get off social media conspiracy sites and wake up. DeSantis is a pompous ass who has dug himself in so deep there is no way out! The longer the anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers continue their fight against healthy protocol, the longer this pandemic will last and the more will die. Including children! You are all hateful human beings who put politics and stupidity above the welfare of the American people.

        • John Messer

          August 30, 2021 at 11:30 am

          You are an ACTIVIST CUCK from CANADA. YOU deserve NO voice on FREE Florida policy. You are a plant and a propagandist! Scum of the earth!

      • Patrick Deane

        August 27, 2021 at 4:28 pm

        You have already been vaccinated for a variety of diseases.
        They work. Paranoid conspiracies don’t help the normal segment of society.
        Trumpers need help.

    • steveneumeyer

      August 2, 2021 at 8:25 pm

      your to stupid to figure out that even the vaccinated are getting coved ,pull your face out of your ass douche bag

      • sharman Rodriguez

        August 3, 2021 at 1:50 pm

        “to stupid”…”getting coved” —Oh, you mean ‘TOO’ stupid and ‘COVID’. And BTW, what exactly is an “ass douche bag”—some kind of enema perhaps?

      • Patrick Deane

        August 27, 2021 at 4:32 pm

        What is your point?
        First off it’s “too”
        COVID, and pull your face out of your ass, (comma) douche bag. I take it writing English is not your strong suite.

    • Sandy

      August 9, 2021 at 9:35 pm

      Rick, JFYI there are 95% of our residents fully vaccinated.
      This past weekend 4 of them tested positive for COVID.
      Just shows even if you are vaccinated you can get COVID, just not the terrible symptoms so they say or death.
      Doesn’t matter about wearing a mask if fully vaccinated.
      So vaccinated or not need to wear masks!!

      • Peterh

        August 9, 2021 at 10:02 pm

        Fun Fact:

        Florida’s vaccination rate is no where near 95% …. that’s why Florida is the number one state in Covid infections and deaths.

      • Steven J Eide

        August 10, 2021 at 9:53 am

        I’ve had antibodies for a year now and was exposed to the “Delta Variant” at a wedding party a few weeks ago. I’m immune to THAT too. NO MASK FOR ME!!!

        • sharman Rodriguez

          August 15, 2021 at 9:59 pm

          Steven J Eide, no mask for you. You’re a manly man. Live long and prosper. And try not to kill any kids with your “immunity”.

    • sharman Rodriguez

      August 27, 2021 at 8:11 pm

      Rick: protect the kids.

  • Rick

    July 28, 2021 at 7:10 am

    Why are you looking at statistics from another country and not ours?
    Bunch of CNN fools.

    • tjb

      July 30, 2021 at 11:44 am

      Name calling (pussy, assholes, and fools) … we love you, Rick. How should we describe you? Factless?

      • Ocean Joe

        July 30, 2021 at 12:16 pm

        Describe him as someone who got the vaccine and thank him for it.

  • Andrew Finn

    July 30, 2021 at 1:30 pm

    Our so-called “governor” Ron DeSantis is, for lack of a better description, a complete and total jackass. His response to the pandemic has been horrible from the start and Floridians are paying the price for it. For the first time in my life I will be voting outside of the Republican Party, and voting for whoever runs against this idiot.

    • sharman Rodriguez

      August 1, 2021 at 9:07 pm

      I completely agree with you!!!!

    • sharman Rodriguez

      August 3, 2021 at 1:51 pm

      AGREED! Same here!

    • Beth Stone

      August 5, 2021 at 4:11 pm

      I’ll definitely not be voting for DeSantis. He is a true idiot.

      • Steven J Eide

        August 10, 2021 at 9:55 am

        Anyone who disagrees with Queen Beth Stone is “an idiot”. ANYONE!!

      • Ed

        August 15, 2021 at 11:44 am

        I just canceled your vote.

    • SLR

      August 9, 2021 at 9:40 pm

      Shows your lack of intellect if you have the nerve to call our GREAT Governor DeSantis a jackass. Don’t like it here? Move out now, whether you vote Republican or Democrat you are the jackass. We Republicans have enough RINOS in the party, don’t need another idiot like you!!

      • sharman Rodriguez

        August 10, 2021 at 12:50 pm

        SLR REALLY? “Great” Governor who is putting our children at risk by not mandating masks in schools? Maybe our great gov. should look at the Covid numbers and the children being admitted to hospitals, placed on ventilators, dying. Maybe he should listen to the pediatricians, and the AMA. Maybe he should stop playing politics. This is NOT a party or political issue. We are talking about the lives and safety of the children.

  • PeterH

    July 31, 2021 at 11:02 am

    Our incompetent wind bag governor ….. wanna-be president and his base of unvaccinated deplorables don’t get to make decisions for what cities, counties or private businesses do to reimpose mask mandates for children or adults.

    The Governor’s foolish mandates are meaningless. The counties and cities OWN THE SCHOOLS IN THEIR DISTRICTS and can regulate whether the schools operate and how to protect unvaccinated children.

    The counties CAN MANDATE that everyone over the age of 12 who wish to enter any county or city own property be vaccinated. The counties CAN AND SHOULD MANDATE that all children and adults who enter county or city owned schools wear a mask to slow the spread of the virus.
    Let the Governor sue in court and let’s see what happens. The politicized nonsense surrounding this deadly pandemic is senseless and disturbing. Wear a mask to protect yourself, your neighbors and your family.

    If you’re not able to wear a mask for WHATEVER REASON stay at home or roam around outside where no one else is around. Simple conservative common sense!

    If you’re an authentic conservative…..help end the stupidity! Join fellow common sense Americans at the Lincoln Project to bring common sense back to the Republican Party of Lincoln.

    • sharman Rodriguez

      August 3, 2021 at 1:52 pm

      YES!!!

  • Ane

    August 3, 2021 at 3:06 am

    Agree with Peter H. He is an enormous wind bag & the action he hasn’t taken is protect those living in Florida is deplorable. Hannity of Fox news is encouraging people to get vaccinated & wear a mask to protect themselves & others……….simple as that. Yes, bring common sense back to the Republican Party. Get rid of the conspiracy theories, stop denying that Jan 6th was an ordinary day at the Capitol. It’s no longer the same party it used to stand for. I will not vote for him or Trump. They are not what the party stands for, rather they hold accountability for their lack of action, lies, behavior, and encouraging Jan 6th. and I know they won’t “own” it. Sad for all of us who have lost a loved one or an entire familu.

  • Deb Dunn

    August 3, 2021 at 10:06 am

    Putting you child into a dangerous situation with No mask on in school is “child neglect” aka child abuse. Your child gets sick the parent can be brought up on charges. Choose wisely.

    • Sandy

      August 9, 2021 at 9:45 pm

      Did you miss the memo Deb ? Who made you chief of the CDC? It is the parents option whether to mask their child or NOT, that is what the Great Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis is saying, NOT the government dictating to the residents. Who told you it was child neglect when parents make decisions based on science and not allowing the communist government (that we are turning into) to make decisions for parents????

      • sharman Rodriguez

        August 10, 2021 at 1:02 pm

        Sandy, so then, according to you, it should be the “Parents’ option” to subject their child to disease and possible hospitalization and death. It should be the parents’ options to perhaps not get them vaccinated against Polio, Diptheria, whooping cough, etc (all the mandated vaccines if they are to enter public schools). Should be the “parents’ option” to neglect and fail to protect their children? The choice of not having your child wear a mask is NOT “based on Science”. Science says otherwise. Not political. Not Republican or Democrat. Not Communist or Fascist. Parents do NOT have the right to abuse or neglect their children.

        • Parent

          August 16, 2021 at 8:01 am

          And if the long term effects from the jab turn out to be very bad for children would it be child abuse if I did not wait for Phase III trials to be done?

          Since the beginning of 2020 more than twice the number of children under 17 have died from pneumonia than from covid according to the CDC.

          So please tell me why I need to be more worried about covid than all the other things that can hurt my children?

          Forcing a shot and masks and lockdowns on children without any science is abuse and neglect. We have had 18 months of covid, where are all the studies?

          • sharman Rodriguez

            August 16, 2021 at 11:52 am

            “Parent”, your information regarding pneumonia is skewed. For one thing, you are looking at worldwide (most third world) numbers. And for another thing, MOST of these pneumonia deaths were preventable. In addition, we now have vaccines for pneumonia. The Delta variant, on the other hand, has proven to be highly contagious amongst children and pediatric ICU beds have filled up fast. YOU SAID, “masks and lockdowns on children without any science is abuse.” THAT is absurd. NOT protecting your child is abuse and neglect. You need to actually read the science and not listen to social media, conspiracy theories, or friends who have jumped on the anti-mask bandwagon. “Long term effects” will be with us from Covid, not from the vaccine. Thank God people with these peculiar ideas were not around during the Polio epidemic! We would still be seeing kids in iron lungs!

      • K Carter

        August 26, 2021 at 7:56 am

        Great Post!!! Agree

  • PeterH

    August 11, 2021 at 3:40 pm

    OMG now we have TRUTH feeding us fake news! Have you been banned from Twitter and Facebook…. So you decided to come to Florida Politics?
    FROM YOUR STATEMENT:
    “ Masks don’t protect you, if anything it is hurting your immunity from other germs.”

    That’s why doctors, nurses, dentist and hygienist wear face masks!

    • sharman Rodriguez

      August 15, 2021 at 1:50 pm

      You are so right! Imagine going into surgery and your doctor just decides not to wear a mask. These anti-maskers are beyond ignorant!

    • Science

      August 16, 2021 at 2:28 pm

      This 2016 meta-analysis found that both randomized controlled trials and observational studies of N95 respirators and surgical masks used by healthcare workers did not show benefit against transmission of acute respiratory infections. It was also found that acute respiratory infection transmission “may have occurred via contamination of provided respiratory protective equipment during storage and reuse of masks and respirators throughout the workday.” J
      Smith, C MacDougall. CMAJ. 2016 May 17. 188(8); 567-574.
      https://www.cmaj.ca/content/188/8/567

      • PeterH

        August 16, 2021 at 2:40 pm

        From this study:

        “ Although N95 respirators appeared to have a protective advantage over surgical masks in laboratory settings, our meta-analysis showed that there were insufficient data to determine definitively whether N95 respirators are superior to surgical masks in protecting health care workers against transmissible acute respiratory infections in clinical settings.”

        It follows up that masks WORK and should be used to prevent transmission.

  • Ed

    August 16, 2021 at 7:51 am

    I defy anyone to show me where We the People gave any elected or appointed official the power to restrict our rights. Read you state constitutions. Does your child have the right to tell you what to do and when to do it? Does the employee that just got hired have the power to tell their supervisor what to do? Do the personnel we hired, the servants, who also vowed to uphold our constitutions, have the power to tell us what to do? NOT without due process of law.

    No one, not DeSantis, not the federal government, not ANY commercial business, NO ONE has the power to tell any citizen to wear a mask or get a vaccine. Businesses are NOT private unless they are a private membership association like the Bar. They are commercial entities and can NOT violate your rights protected under our constitution.

    Now it might be a good idea to wear a mask or get a jab, that I do not want to comment on, do your own due diligence. But if you believe in freedom and our constitutions and form of government, you can’t suspend them because you are afraid.

    I could teach everyone here a class on the things I have learned about our laws over the last year.

    Government instituted for common benefit:
    That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people,
    nation, or community; of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best which is capable of producing
    the greatest degree of happiness and safety, and is most effectually secured against the danger of maladministration;
    and, whenever any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community
    hath an indubitable, inalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be
    judged most conducive to the public weal.

    God bless us all….

    • sharman Rodriguez

      August 16, 2021 at 12:01 pm

      OK Ed, then I suppose vaccines for Polio, whooping cough, Diphtheria, Varicella etc. etc. shouldn’t be mandated for kids to enter public schools??? Guess we all have an “indubitable, inalienable, and indefeasible right” to NOT protect our children and those they may come in contact with from any of these deadly childhood diseases.

      • Ed

        August 16, 2021 at 2:25 pm

        They are not and you can sign a waver. Also, all of those vaccines had years of testing and completed phase 3 trials. They also all conformed to the Nuremburg Code. Maybe you should read up a bit on the history of it.

        354 children under 17 died of covid in 2020 and 2021. 859 children died of pneumonia in the same time period. Right from the CDC web site. Just search “Weekly Updates by Select Demographic and Geographic Characteristics”

        Now please tell me why I should give my children an experimental drug, that has over 5000+ deaths so far, for an illness that has a smaller chance of killing them then 20+ other things…

        “During this time, VAERS received 6,631 reports of death (0.0019%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine. ”

        Now please show me where you get your VAST knowledge from. Please just give me some REAL data… NOT your uneducated opinion.

        Do realize that I have read thousands of pages of studies and reports. If you want to talk science and truth you better have facts to back up your arguments, because I will have reams of it.

        But is okay carnal, I will still love and respect you because I know your heart is in the right place, even if your head is filled with false teachings.

  • Anna

    August 16, 2021 at 7:40 pm

    Please just give me some REAL data… NOT your uneducated opinion.

  • Anna

    August 16, 2021 at 7:42 pm

    my neighbor’s aunt makes sixty two each hour at the net..iib she has been without paintings for eight months however the preceding month her sales become 19022 simplest operating at the pc five hours an afternoon.. take a look at this

  • Anna

    August 16, 2021 at 7:48 pm

    My neighbor’s aunt makes sixty two each hour at the net..fdc she has been without paintings for eight months however the preceding month her sales become 19022 simplest operating at the pc five hours an afternoon.. take a look at this…… http://SwagTip.com

  • Amy Briggs

    August 21, 2021 at 3:14 pm

    Since I started with my online business,KJH I earn $25 every 15 minutes. It sounds unbelievable but you won’t forgive yourself if you don’t check it out. Learn more about it here… rb.gy/mpermp

  • Elizabeth

    August 25, 2021 at 9:30 am

    Why do all the news agencies forget Osceola? We started with masks optional but Monday this week was the first day of masks required for K-8 unless a parents’ note is on file. I wish it were a doctor’s note, but at least we have something! And for all of you who feel you shouldn’t have to mask because you’re vaxxed, vaccines are never 100% perfect, and if anyone catches this, you could host a new strain. Viruses only replicate with a host, so you could help it mutate into something even deadlier. PLEASE mask up to help us return to normal!

  • Suzan

    August 25, 2021 at 2:40 pm

    USA citizens can now get this job and earns more dollars by go to this web.i last month i have made and received $17915 from this job by doing easy work in part time…. http://Pays11.com

  • Chloe

    September 1, 2021 at 5:00 pm

    If you were looking for a way to earn some extra income every week… Look no more!!!! Here is a great opportunity for everyone to make $95/per hour by working in your free time on your computer from home…JHQ I’ve been doing this for 6 months now and last month i’ve earned my first five-figure paycheck ever!!!! Learn more about it on following link… http://amazingjobs.tk/

  • Chelsea Shepherd

    September 4, 2021 at 9:40 pm

    Here are 7 at-home jobs that pay at least $100/day. And there’s quite the variety too! Some of these work-at-home jobs are more specialized, others are jobs that anyone can do.KJQ They all pay at least $3000/month, but some pay as much as $10,000.
    GO HOME PAGE HERE FOR MORE DETAILS… http://amazingjobs.tk/

  • Violet E. Hall

    September 10, 2021 at 6:17 am

    Jobs 2021. Starting now, you’ll be earning cash every month from home. You can get more money online than $45,000 by completing an easy job online. During the last four weeks, I have earned $45,150 from this job. It is easy to join and to earn a living from these websites. They are just great.

    Follow the steps here to get started right now.➤➤➤➤➤ http://www.fullwork.cf

Comments are closed.


#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




Sign up for Sunburn


Categories