Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Supports Florida Girl Suspended 36 Times Over Refusal to Wear Mask, Says It's 'Unacceptable'

By Mary Webber First Posted: Nov 08, 2021 12:11 AM EST

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has expressed his support for a Florida girl who was suspended from school for 36 days for not following the school's mask mandate.

DeSantis called the move "unacceptable" and called out school board members who "cavort around" without any masks while requiring students to wear them, Fox News reported.

Fiona Lashells, a second-grade student in Florida, has spoken out against the school's mask requirement. Before she was suspended for 36 days, her school disciplined her 16 times for refusing to wear a mask.

Fiona said she does not like wearing a mask because "you touch it, and you have germs on your hand, and then you put it on your face and breathe in all the germs."

In a statement, the Palm Beach County school district said the indoor mask mandate was imposed before the school year due to the rapidly rising COVID cases.

DeSantis argued that all 67 counties have huge declines in COVID cases among school-age kids, adding that most of those counties did not have forced masking.

The Republican governor noted that masking had not been proven to be effective, adding that "as we see with Fiona," it has caused harm to some of the students.

Florida Girl Suspended Over Mask Mandate

Fiona Lashells, a student in Palm Beach County, has first refused to wear a face mask in school on August 31. She was also forced to eat a silent lunch alone in an office hallway, The Blaze reported.

Lashells' mother, Bailey Lashells, told the Tampa Free Press that her daughter is a strong-minded and fearless young girl who is ready to "conquer the world at seven."

She noted that her daughter is a typical seven-year-old who enjoys arts and crafts, drawing, and making jewelry.

Bailey said she learned that her daughter might have to repeat second grade after being suspended 36 times for not complying with the mask mandate.

"She (Fiona) was recently told after completing every assignment her teacher will provide that she is not only failing second grade but that there is no way she could catch up, per her teacher," Bailey noted.

According to Fiona, one can breathe in all the germs accumulated in the mask if they wear it for a long time, citing instances where people put it down at lunch and put it back on their face, WKBN 27 News report.

The second-grade said she's doing it for other kids and not just for herself.

Florida Schools Mask Mandate

In July, Ron DeSantis had signed a law that banned schools from requiring students to wear masks. Several counties, including Palm Beach, have since defied the governor's mask ban.

The state has imposed fines against Broward and Alachua counties' school districts equivalent to the annual salaries of the school board members who voted for mask mandates.

Meanwhile, two of Florida's largest school districts have relaxed their mask requirements this week. Orange County schools have allowed students to stop wearing face masks if their parents provide a note, allowing them to do so.

High school students in Broward County can choose to wear a mask starting on Monday. However, wearing face masks will still be mandatory for middle and elementary school students.

The state of Florida has fought against schools mandating their students to wear face masks. In the Fox News report, DeSantis noted that they'd had a lot of litigation since then. He added that, fortunately, they're winning all of those cases.

The Republican governor has continued to argue that the decision to mask children should be left to parents and not school boards. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children over the age of two should wear masks indoors.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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