SCHOOL UNIFORM

Florida’s Capital City Defies DeSantis by Requiring Masks in Schools

Parents who refuse to send their children to school with masks must get a signed note from a doctor or psychologist by Friday.

Schools in Tallahassee will require students from pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade to wear masks, adding to the list of school districts in the state choosing to go against Gov. Ron DeSantis’ blanket ban on mask mandates. Classes started two weeks ago, and COVID cases are on the rise in Florida’s capital city and neighboring suburbs. Parents who refuse to send their children to school with masks must get a signed note from a doctor or psychologist by Friday, Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna said Sunday. “I don’t believe masks are necessarily the end-all, be-all, but we know they made a difference,” said Hanna in a statement. Leon County’s district is home to 32,000 students. Other districts with more stringent mask mandates are facing the threat of cuts to their funding from the state’s Board of Education.