Mother says 'strong-minded and fearless' daughter, 7, suspended 36 times from school for not wearing a mask may have to repeat second grade



A Florida girl may have to repeat second grade after she was suspended 36 times for not complying with the school district's mask mandate.

Bailey Lashells describes her 7-year-old daughter as a typical child who enjoys drawing, arts and crafts, and making jewelry. The mother also says her daughter's priorities have changed since the pandemic.

Fiona Lashells — a student in Palm Beach County — first refused to wear a face mask at school on Aug. 31, and was forced to eat a silent lunch alone in an office hallway. The second-grader has since been suspended 36 times.

"Fiona is a strong-minded and fearless young girl who was ready to conquer the world at seven," the mother told the Tampa Free Press.

"Unfortunately, the blows just seem to not stop as she 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 Lashells said.

Fiona's fight against mask mandates caught the attention of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Republican governor signed an executive order in July banning mask mandates in Florida schools, giving the parents the choice to mask or unmask their children. The Palm Beach County school district was one of several school districts in Florida to defy the mask mandate ban.

The School District of Palm Beach County's universal mask mandate for students will finally offer parents an opt-out option on Monday after a judge declared that the DeSantis administration was within its authority to impose a ban on mask mandates.

DeSantis appeared on "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday with Fiona.

"I'm not wearing a mask because you touch it, and you have germs on your hands, and then you put it on your face and then you breathe in all the germs," Fiona said.

"Fox & Friends" host Steve Doocy asked Fiona how she felt about the possibility of having to repeat the second grade.

"Well, I don't feel good about that, and I don't want to take the grade over again because I've also been doing most of the work at home," the young girl said.

DeSantis noted, "All 67 counties have had a huge decline in COVID cases among school-age children. Most of them did not have forced masking. So this is not something that has been proven to be effective. And obviously, as we see with Fiona, it has caused harm to some of our students."

DeSantis pointed to Glenn Youngkin's victory in the Virginia gubernatorial election as a sign that "people are rebelling against what the Democrat Party stands for nowadays," including "never-ending mandates and restrictions because of COVID."

DeSantis: Americans are rebelling against the Democratic Party www.youtube.com

Florida judge blocks DeSantis' ban on mask mandates in schools



A Florida judge ruled Friday that school districts in the state can require students to wear masks. The ruling overturns the executive order that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed to ban mask mandates.

The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by parents who railed against DeSantis' ban on schools forcing mandatory masks. The order signed by the Republican governor on July 30 gave parents the final decision to determine whether they want their children to wear face masks at school or not.

After a three-day virtual hearing, Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper ruled that DeSantis' order "is without legal authority" and is by definition "arbitrary" and "capricious."

"I conclude that this evidence demonstrates that facemask policies that follow CDC guidance are, at this point in time, reasonable and consistent with the best scientific and medical and public opinion guidance at this time," Cooper said, according to WJXT. "I am enforcing the bill passed by the Legislature and requiring that anyone who uses that bill has to follow all of the provisions, not some of the provisions."

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention currently "recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status."

"The actions of the defendants (DeSantis) do not pass constitutional muster," Cooper said. "They seek to deprive the school boards in advance."

The Tallahassee judge cited two Florida Supreme Court decisions from 1914 and 1939 that ruled that individual rights are limited by their impact on the rights of others, CBS News reported. Cooper used examples stating that adults have the right to drink alcohol, but are prohibited from driving while intoxicated. Another example given is people have a right to free speech, but are not allowed to threaten others.

"We don't have that right because exercising the right in that way is harmful or potentially harmful to other people," Cooper said, adding that the law "is full of examples of rights that are limited (when) the good of others ... would be adversely affected by those rights."

During a news conference on Thursday, DeSantis said if the ban on mask mandates were overruled that he would appeal the decision.

"If we win in ... trial court I'm sure it'll be appealed on the other side, too. And so that's good, I mean, I think you know, we obviously need to have this stuff crystallize," DeSantis said, according to WKMG-TV. "We feel that the legislature really made a big statement with their parental Bill of Rights and that's an important piece of legislation."

DeSantis believes that parents in favor of being given a choice of masking their children or not will file a separate lawsuit opposing school mask mandates.

"I know there's parents who had their rights taken away, who are going to pursue legal action. I think you will see that in some areas," DeSantis added.

At least 10 county school boards have voted to defy DeSantis and institute mask mandates in Florida classrooms regardless of parental consent, including the two largest school districts in the state.

Earlier this month, Florida's Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran sent letters to the superintendents and school board chairs of districts in Alachua, Leon, and Broward counties threatening to withhold their funding.

Arkansas judge blocks ban on mask mandates governor regrets signing



Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) appears to have had his wish granted after a judge blocked the state from enforcing its ban on mask mandates.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox issued a preliminary injunction Friday against a law Hutchinson signed in April that prohibits local government authorities from imposing mask requirements, the Associated Press reported. The law was challenged by two parents of public school children who are too young to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the Little Rock and Marion school districts in a separate lawsuit.

Fox said the law violated the Arkansas Constitution by treating public and private schools differently.

He ordered that the law "cannot be enforced in any shape, fashion or form" until the lawsuits are resolved.

Days before, Hutchinson told reporters that he regrets signing the ban on mask mandates and wishes that the legislature would repeal the law as COVID-19 cases surge in Arkansas.

"In hindsight, I wish that had not become law," the governor said at a news conference.

He added that if the legislature will not act, it would be up to the courts to strike the law down and "that could mean we could have counties and cities all doing their thing." Fearing this outcome would be confusing, Hutchinson called for a special session of the legislature to repeal the ban on school mask mandates.

But lawmakers adjourned the special session hours before the court issued its ruling without changing the ban on mask mandates.

NEW: The Senate chamber just voted to adjourn - but just before the vote Sen. Trent Garner and Sen. Bob Ballinger e… https://t.co/SAb8rJZOBj

— Marine Glisovic KATV (@KATVMarine) 1628258605.0

A state House panel on Thursday rejected two measures that would have permitted some school districts to issue mask requirements, KATV-TV reports.

Republican lawmakers were opposed to altering the ban on mask mandates despite calls from schools to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance before classes resume in the fall.

The Marion School District of east Arkansas, one of the parties to the lawsuit against the ban, has placed more than 800 students and faculty in quarantine after an outbreak of COVID-19 infected 54 students and 11 staff members.

The school's lawsuit argued that mask requirements were necessary to protect the safety of both students and faculty.

"No rational reason exists for denying public school students, teachers and staff, and the school boards which are obligated to keep them safe, the ability to ensure that all who work and learn in our public schools are as safe as possible," the lawsuit stated.