Florida OKs school vouchers in districts requiring masks

FLORIDA — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Board of Education has approved an emergency rule to allow private school vouchers to parents who say their school district’s mask-wearing mandates amount to child harassment. COVID-19 safety policies, including requirements to wear masks. The parents could request the vouchers under provisions normally used to protect children who are being bullied. The meeting was scheduled a week after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the department to come up with ways to pressure school districts not to impose mask mandates, saying they had the legal right to make decisions about their children’s health and education.