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The governor's office has responded directly to a move by the Palm Beach County School Board to vote in a universal mask mandate, which takes away parents' option of opting their kids out.
Here is the written statement, issued by Governor Ron DeSantis' spokesperson Christina Pushaw:
"The forced masking of schoolchildren infringes upon parents' rights to make health and educational decisions for their own children. No politician is above the law, even the Palm Beach County school board members. It is disappointing that the school board chose to change their mask policy-which had previously protected the freedom for parents to opt their kids out, in compliance with Florida law."
Palm Beach is one of several around the state that are not giving parents the ability to make the final decision as to whether students wear masks on campus. The only way out is through a medical exemption.
The Palm Beach policy takes effect on Monday.