Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs bill that would strip schools of funding for imposing a mask mandate for students

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed an executive order Friday that prohibits schools in the state from requiring students to wear face masks when they return to classrooms in the fall.

The executive order, released Friday, is "effective immediately" and directs the Florida Departments of Health and Education to release emergency rules that stipulate that decisions over whether students will be masked in classrooms will be left up to parents rather than school officials.

According to the order, schools that do not comply with the directives from the Education and Health Departments run the risk of losing funding from the state.

"We think that's the most fair way to do it," DeSantis said Friday at an event at an Italian restaurant in Cape Coral, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

"The federal government has no right to tell parents that in order for their kids to attend school in person, they must be forced to wear a mask all day, every day," DeSantis said in a press release announcing the order.

"Many Florida schoolchildren have suffered under forced masking policies, and it is prudent to protect the ability of parents to make decisions regarding the wearing of masks by their children," he added.

DeSantis' order Friday comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week recommended that students and staff at K-12 schools wear masks in the classroom regardless of their vaccination status, as Insider previously reported.