Charlie Crist urges federal officials to intervene on school mask mandate ban

Charlie Crist is in the lead, if you can handle the salt.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist is urging federal officials to intervene in the state’s ban on school mask mandates, citing the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In a letter sent to U.S. Department of Justice Secretary Merrick Garland and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Crist pushes for the enforcement of disability rights laws and requests guidance for school districts trying to enforce a mask mandate amid the surge in COVID-19 cases across the state.

“Governor DeSantis has not only refused to lead throughout this pandemic, he is making it worse,” Crist said in a statement. “His ‘defund the schools’ Executive Order is failing to keep our schools open and safe and illegally depriving students with disabilities equal access to the classroom.”

Crist, a 2022 gubernatorial candidate, is pushing against the recent State Board of Education emergency rule prohibiting mask mandates in schools, following an order by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Now, DeSantis is facing pushback from parents of children with disabilities, who are suing over the required opt-out option ⁠— a suit Crist lays out in his letter.

The lawsuit filed by parents of students with disabilities claims preventing schools from enforcing mask requirements could be deadly for students with disabilities who are at high risk for illness, especially in children under 12 who are not yet eligible for the vaccine.

“I write with concerns about the right of children with disabilities in Florida to attend school safely,” Crist writes. “According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children with intellectual or developmental disabilities, like Will, have a greater susceptibility to COVID-19 and statistically suffer more severe consequences from becoming infected with this virus.”

Crist points to Section 504 of the ADA, saying that the ban on mask mandates violates the rights of children with disabilities.

“Any policy that gives individual parents the right to make students with disabilities unsafe at school would appear to violate Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, as it would either shut these children out of school or force them into isolated environments,” Crist writes.

The Democratic Congressman also highlights an open letter from the Committee to Protect Health Care, signed by over 800 Florida doctors, indicating that universal masks are the best way to keep schools open and safe during an outbreak.

“Over 800 Florida doctors, including dozens of my constituents, have signed an open letter that includes a recommendation to allow school districts to take appropriate measures to keep all children safe, particularly those who have not been vaccinated,” Crist writes. “Further, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all students should wear face masks at school to prevent transmission of the virus and its variants while noting lack of in-person learning has a disproportionate impact on students with disabilities.”

But, despite the statewide ruling, some school districts are pushing back.

Alachua and Broward County school districts have imposed mandatory masking requirements, leading the state to threaten withholding funds for noncompliance.

The Florida Department of Education is set to hold a second emergency Board of Education meeting about mask policies in schools on Aug. 17 at 4 p.m.

Board members will consider two school districts defying the order banning mask mandates.

The school districts risked cuts to funding, but the penalties didn’t play out quite as DeSantis’ original threat intended. DeSantis’ executive order threatened to cut school district budgets where mask mandates were issued. He walked that back later, saying he would only cut salaries for school board members and superintendents who implemented the requirements.