Florida's education department warns school districts: Follow DeSantis' ban on mask mandates within 48 hours or get fined

• Florida's Department of Education said it will fine school districts that do not comply with the mask ban.
• Broward and Alachua counties, which imposed a mask mandate for their schools, have 48 hours to reverse it or they will pay the fine.
• The state will withhold funds on a monthly basis that would add up to equal the total yearly salary of school board members who vote to impose the mandates.

The Florida Department of Education said Friday that it will fine school districts that don't comply with Governor DeSantis' ban on mask mandates within 48 hours.

Both Broward and Alachua counties imposed a mask mandate for their schools, in defiance of the DeSantis's state-wide ban on mandates, in which the governor said in an executive order that parents have the right to choose whether their children wear masks in the classroom, not the districts.

The state is giving both counties 48 hours to reverse their mandates, or face a fine equal to the salaries of the school board members who voted to institute the mask rules, the statement said, reported by ABC affiliate WTXL Tallahassee.

"As an initial step, the Florida Department of Education will then begin to withhold from state funds, on a monthly basis, an amount equal to 1/12 of the total annual compensation of the school board members who voted to impose the unlawful mask mandates until each district demonstrates compliance," the statement said.

US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, meanwhile, told the Miami Herald that he has advised the districts to keep their mandates in place.

"It is deeply troubling to see state leaders putting politics ahead of the health and safety of our students, and that instead of supporting our educators for doing the right thing, state leaders are trying to punish them," Cardona said in his statement to the Herald.

He said he contacted the districts' superintendents to "reassure them that the president and his administration stand with them and with all educators who put students and staff health and education first."

COVID-19 cases are surging in Florida, with 15,402 new cases on Wednesday alone, the CDC reported. Despite this, DeSantis continues to push back on restrictions suggested by public health experts, like mask mandates.

Many other states have either imposed mask mandates for all students or allow the districts to impose their own mask mandates if they choose to do so, USA Today reported.