FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Under more threats of sanctions, superintendents in Broward and Miami-Dade counties are sticking to their guns, telling the State Board of Education they believe they’re complying with state law and meeting their constitutional responsibility when it comes to mask and quarantine policy.
“It is worth noting that the Parent’s Bill of Rights does not grant rule making authority to the department of health nor the department of education,” says Broward Schools Interim Superintendent Vickie Cartwright.
On Tuesday, the Broward School Board voted not to change its masking and quarantine rules until the county reaches a vaccination rate of 67 percent, which they say they have, and until COVID positivity rates drop to three percent.
On that same day, Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran threatened to pull more funding — the $420,000 Broward schools got from the Biden administration.
The Commissioner of Education says worsening sanctions come because Broward schools refuses to follow the governor’s ban of mask mandates.
Plus, Corcoran says Broward refuses to follow last month’s new rule from the state that says parents should decide if their child should quarantine after coming in direct contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
On Thursday, the State Board of Education issued a press release, which states, in part, “Due to school districts’ persistent violations of students’ and families’ educational and privacy rights, including literally barring many students with special needs from a free and appropriate public education, today the State Board of Education (SBOE) authorized Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran to financially sanction the salaries of elected school board bureaucrats in eight school districts.”
“Tragically, since August, we lost 14 staff members and one student, and many more have been hospitalized,” says Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. “We know masks reduce viral spread. Those who say otherwise are misinformed or misguided.: