Q&A – How Can Local School Boards Defy Florida Law?

Today’s entry: Good Morning, The School Board voted to break the law and remove our parental rights. How can they do this? How is it that the school board can override the law? I don't understand how this is possible. As a parent I am furious. I shouldn't be put in this position when a law was made for parents and I shouldn't be putting children in this position. I am already withdrawing one child for other reasons.

What kind of example does this set for children? Students have to follow all School Board policies or they get punished but the School Board doesn't have to follow State Law? Where is their punishment? 

Bottom Line: I hear you and understand your frustration. Yesterday, I discussed FAU’s findings that by a margin of 51% to 40% Floridians support parental choice for school mask policy, as opposed to school mask mandates. Five years ago, 71% of Floridians voted for Florida’s Amendment 2, which “legalized” medical marijuana in Florida. You might be wondering what one has to do with the other. What we’re discussing right now is exactly what I warned about back in 2016 regarding the precedent we’d set if we were to pass the amendment. While I personally support the option for one to obtain medical marijuana, I voted against the 2016 amendment on principled grounds. 

What’s happening in real-time, with Alachua, Broward, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach County School Districts deliberately breaking state law, by defying the Florida Board of Education’s policy for the current school year in addition to Florida’s parental bill of rights, is simply a different version of a similar thing. What’s happens next is critical in determining not just what mask policies and parental rights will or won’t be in Florida’s schools but also issues like Critical Race Theory.

Consider, if local school districts are willing to deliberately vote to violate the Florida Board of Education’s policy regarding parental choice for masks, what’s stopping them from doing the same with Critical Race Theory? Or insert another topic/issue here. There are three possible outcomes. First, the courts side with the legal challenges against the state thus making the mask mandates by local boards legal. Second, courts uphold the state’s position and parental bill of rights and the state takes sweeping actions against the offending officials. And third, courts uphold the state’s position and parental bill of rights but the state takes little or no action against the offending officials.

Though I’ve not confirmed this with state officials, I’m of the view that the reason you haven’t seen the Florida Department of Education or Governor DeSantis take punitive action against any offending school districts or officials is due to the pending legal challenges. We’re in unchartered territory with what we’re witnessing right now. Yesterday a hearing before the Leon County Circuit Court took place. I believe the state wants clarity before taking substantive next steps. If the state moved to cut funds and/or to remove officials from office, only for the courts to strike down the state’s law and/or authority on this issue – the situation would be far worse to attempt to reconcile than if they wait until there’s legal clarity. I understand that’s not helpful for parents in real-time who are outraged by this, but it is the pragmatic approach.

Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods. 

Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com

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