MIAMI SHORES, FLA. (WSVN) – The Florida Department of Education has approved an emergency measure allowing parents to transfer their children out of schools that impose mask mandates using private school vouchers.
Parents will now be allowed to access vouchers for private schools if they feel COVID protocols “pose a health or educational danger to their child.”
The rule was approved during an emergency meeting on Friday.
“If a parent wants their child to wear a mask ay school, they should have that right. If a parent doesn’t want a child to wear a mask at school, it’s cool, they should have that right,” said Ben Gibson, vice chair of the Florida State Board of Education.
According to the Associated Press, the parents could request the vouchers under provisions that are usually used to protect children who are being bullied.
“‘COVID-19 harassment’ means any threatening, discriminatory, insulting, or dehumanizing verbal, written or physical conduct an individual student suffers in relation to, or as a result of, school district protocols for COVID-19, including masking requirements, the separation or isolation of students, or COVID-19 testing requirements, that have the effect of substantially interfering with a student’s educational performance,” the rule reads.