Of course this headline is a bit misleading
MIAMI (AP) — Despite a ban by Gov. Ron DeSantis, two Florida school districts have decided to require masks when children return to classrooms because of dramatic rises in coronavirus infections, with the state leading the country in hospitalizations.
School boards in Duval County, home to Jacksonville, and Alachua County, home to Gainesville, made the decision based on rising hospitalizations and new cases of the coronavirus. The surge has hit parts of northeast Florida particularly hard.
The Duval County School Board voted late Tuesday to require students to wear masks unless parents submit paperwork to opt out. The Alachua County board said it had voted to require masks for the first two weeks of school, adding that the decision will be reevaluated in two weeks. Students in both districts go back to school next Tuesday.
“We applaud the school boards of Alachua and Duval County for listening to and following the advice of the doctors in their community,” the Florida Education Association said in a statement. “We hope other school districts will also heed the advice of the trusted medical professionals.