A Florida second-grader was reportedly suspended a total of 36 days and disciplined in school for violating the school district’s mask mandate.
Fiona, a student in Palm Beach County, was served her first punishment Aug. 31, according to The Free Press. Since then, she has faced other in-school and out-of-school disciplinary actions.
Ron DeSantis @GovRonDeSantis joins a second grader that was suspended for 36 days for not wearing a mask. pic.twitter.com/T3rEpLVceE
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) November 3, 2021
“Fiona has changed her priorities a bit and is on a mission to take back not only her rights but every American child’s constitutional rights from the tyrant school board being operated by a financial expert who has no knowledge of how to safely and effectively run the 10th largest school district in America,” Fiona’s mother, Bailey Lashells, said, reported The Free Press.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced an executive order in July banning mask mandates in schools. The order protected parents’ rights to choose whether or not to mask their children while in school. A Florida judge ultimately shot down the order.
Starting Nov. 15, parents will be able to opt their children out of wearing masks at school, the school district announced Thursday in a press release. (RELATED: DeSantis Threatens To Withhold Salaries Of School Officials Who Enforce Mask Mandates)
“The story, as reported and recirculated, was misreading and contained inaccuracies,” the Palm Beach County School District said in a statement to the Daily Caller.
“Shortly after the current school year began, the Palm Beach County School District adopted a facial covering mandate to address the rapid rise in cases and to offset the imminent threat to the community and our ability to keep schools open for in-person instruction,” the school district said. “Specifically, this Policy facilitates the continuous operations of the District by protecting the health, safety, and welfare of students, employees, and their families by adhering to COVID-19 District safety protocols.”
“Students, except those who are medically eligible to opt-out, were directed to wear facial coverings while indoors,” the school district went on to say.
“With the recent approval of the Pfizer pediatric COVID vaccine and the decline in COVID-19 cases in our community, parents will, once again, have a choice to opt-out of the wearing of facial coverings beginning November 15, 2021,” the district added.