School Board Member Alhadeff: Student Mask Mandate “Does Violate The Law”

Broward School Board Member Lori Alhadeff, the lone “no” vote on the board’s decision to continue a district-wide student mask mandate, said Wednesday she believes the requirement violates state law.

“I do feel that the Board’s vote in favor of a mask mandate that neglects to include an opt-out does violate the law,” Alhadeff said in an email response to questions.

“Governor DeSantis’ mandate is quite clear and straightforward in its semantics. I made my decision based solely on that language.”

The board on Tuesday voted 8-1 to keep its mask mandate for students in place to begin the school year amid a record-breaking surge in Florida COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. Broward students can opt out of the requirement if they receive a medical waiver.

The decision followed current CDC guidance recommending “universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.” But it flew in the face of DeSantis’ “Ensuring Parents’ Freedom to Choose Masks in Schools” executive order, issued July 30, which grants Florida’s Board of Education the power to withhold funding from any district that requires masks for students.

Following DeSantis’ lead, the Florida Department of Health adopted an emergency rule mandating parents be allowed to opt-out of mask requirements implemented by local school districts for any reason.

“I would have voted yes if the language from the Department of Health was included which stated that students may wear masks or facial coverings as a mitigation measure; however, the school must allow for a parent or legal guardian of the student to opt-out the student from wearing a face-covering or mask,” Alhadeff said.

“The mask mandate (with the opt-out option) outlined in the rules does protect students and staff while permitting individuals to make their own decisions as they see fit,” Alhadeff added. “I believe it is important that my constituents are aware of my continued commitment to the safety and security of all students and staff in Broward County.”

In addition to DeSantis’ order and the DOH rule, the Florida Board of Education approved a separate rule last week that broadened a state scholarship program—originally meant for student victims of bullying—to include students who do not want to wear masks in school.

In response to DeSantis’ executive order and the new state rules, the Broward School Board on Tuesday also decided to hire outside counsel and mount a legal challenge.

During the board meeting, Alhadeff said she “took an oath of an office to follow the law” and supported an opt-out option for parents. But her vote still came as a surprise to some.

Alhadeff, who represents Coral Springs, Parkland, Tamarac, and parts of Margate and North Lauderdale, lives in Parkland. A former teacher and mother of three, she became a school safety advocate after her daughter Alyssa was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

In a separate email response to Alhadeff’s constituents, some of who wrote to her following Tuesday’s vote, the board member offered more details about her rationale.

“As an elected constitutional officer, Mrs. Alhadeff must uphold the law as the state could potentially remove her from office and Governor DeSantis could install an appointee who will follow the administration,” the email response to her constituents states, in part.

DeSantis’ office has also said the BOE could withhold salaries from school board members and district superintendents who impose mask mandates.

This school board member respects the rule of law. She stood alone and voted against the 8 pro-forced-mask liberals.

She lost a daughter in the Parkland shooting...so it is nice to see someone like her stand for law and not be reactionary.

I also hope many Broward parents opt out of making their kids wear masks.

Striking teachers can find doctors to write "blue flu" notes for them, perhaps some intelligent doctors can do the same for the "medical waivers" for students.

I also hope DeSantis sues these school boards...or a state prosecutor charges these lawless members.

"I also hope DeSantis sues these school boards...or a state prosecutor charges these lawless members"

Sue them? what for? Since when do we start suing people for violating the law? What happened to arrest them and let them sit in jail until trial. Let the DEFENDANTS take this to court. DeSantis is showing some lack of real balls on this one and it's concerning. Gov. Abbott in Texas is doing the same thing.

I don't know why parents don't go to the schools and ask who is making their child wear a mask then when they get the names of teachers or administrators call 911 right there on the spot. They are breaking the law. Arrest them. Why is it that conservatives are the only people who EVER get arrested for breaking the law?

Masks, plain and simple are NFG for preventing the spread of the virus. We shall NEVER get the world rid of this chimera, a product of bioengineering, first begun illegally here in the US, then farmed out to the virology laboratory in Wuhan, China, when it became too much of a hot potato for the research to continue in the US.

But the keys for treatment of the modified coronavirus were already known going in. Akin to the virus that is a factor in the “common cold”, coronavirus variants all respond the same way to treatment with a zinc supplement and an effective ionophore that opens up the coronavirus particle to absorption of the Zn++ ion. The virus particle then stops replicating, effectively allowing the body to fight off the infection. It worked then and it works now. Just check out the over-the-counter preparations like Zicam, Cold-Eeze, Nature’s Way, or Therazinc.

Hydroxychloroquine-zinc-azithromycin protocol works well as a therapeutic treatment for active COVID-19 infections, as does a parasite treatment, ivermectin.

Two words: Broward County. A liberal stronghold where the rule of law is pretty much irrelevant. And, of course, that would go double for anything that evil, mean, Republican governor of ours has to say.

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