Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke in Florida on Friday after winning in court and laid waste to Joe Biden over his unconstitutional mandate plans and general covid authoritarianism and anti-business, anti-freedom crackdowns.
“Here he comes from Washington, D.C. instituting an unprecedented mandate which even his own people acknowledged in the past is not constitutional. That’s not leadership,” said DeSantis. “The problem I have with Joe Biden more than anything: This guy doesn’t take responsibility for anything. He’s always trying to blame other people, blame other states.”
“This is a guy that promised, when he ran for president, that he would shut down the virus,” the governor continued. “You look now there’s 300% more cases in this country today than a year ago when we had no vaccines at all. So his policies are not working. He’s doubling down on things that are going to be very destructive for the livelihoods of many, many Americans, and obviously going to be destructive to our constitutional system and the rule of law.”
DeSantis tweeted he was not surprised by Friday's ruling.
"The 1st DCA has restored the right of parents to make the best decisions for their children. I will continue to fight for parents' rights," he added.
School districts react
Some school districts with mask mandates, though, said Friday that the appeals court decision wouldn't immediately change their policies.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Florida's largest school district, will continue to enforce a mask mandate as the appeals process runs its course, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told CNN's Erin Burnett Friday, "for one simple reason -- it works," he said.
Broward County Public Schools, the second-largest district, will continue to implement its current policy, Interim Superintendent Dr. Vickie Cartwright said in a press conference Friday. The district has lost four staff members -- two teachers and two paraprofessionals -- to Covid-19.
"We're in the middle of a pandemic and we've got to respond accordingly to what's in the best interest of our students related to the pandemic," Cartwright said. "We look forward to the future ruling from the District Court of Appeals."
Orange County Public Schools, which includes Orlando, will "continue to monitor the court proceedings," spokesperson Michael Ollendorff said.
"Our current policy remains in place through October 30," Ollendorff said.
Leon County Public Schools, which includes Tallahassee, won't comment on the ruling and "will continue to mandate masks" through eighth grade, according to spokesperson Chris Petley.
There will also be no changes in the mask policy at Lee County Public Schools, according to spokesperson Rob Spicker, who said "the mask requirement remains in place." Lee County includes Fort Myers.
Brevard Public School System spokesperson Katherine Allen said the system had "not been notified of any changes to our current policy at this time."
"The decision is disappointing, but we understood from the beginning that the legal battle over masks in schools would take time and not every decision would be favorable," said Alachua County Public Schools spokesperson Jackie Johnson.
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