SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — As tensions rise in Sarasota surrounding the school district's mask mandate, one state senator is working on legislation to allow parents the chance to move their students to a private school instead.
Sen. Joe Gruters posted on Facebook about introducing new legislation to develop the "Face Freedom Scholarship." According to Gruters, it would allow families enrolled in a school district with a mask mandate to move to an eligible private school on scholarship instead.
"With families, not elected officials and bureaucrats, being the best decision-makers for their children, I believe that all families should have choice in education," he explained. "From deciding which academic programs best fit the needs of their children to whether they believe their child should or should not be forced to wear a mask in school all day."
Gruters represents Sarasota and Charlotte counties.
The "battle" in Sarasota that Gruters mentions revolves around a group of parents who sued the school board over its mask policy for students.
In the suit, parents argue the current requirement for students to wear masks at school is "irrational" and interferes with the "Fundamental Right" to receive a free and uniform public education. It also claims the district has placed parents in a position to subject their children to physical and psychological harm.
"As of this writing," the lawsuit reads, "there is not one single instance, anywhere in the entire world, where one single school teacher has contracted COVID-19 from a student. Zero cases. Anywhere on planet earth."
As for the school districts' current mask policy? All students and employees must wear a face mask unless they have a medical certification stating otherwise until June 2021, when it is set to expire.
Gruters says his proposed legislation is not about being anti-mask, but rather supporting a parent's choice.
"I will even draft this scholarship to make it crystal clear that there is no ban on the optional use of masks in school -- If teachers, families and children elect to wear a mask at school, they would be permitted to do so," he wrote on Facebook.
Instead, the "Face Freedom Scholarship" will look to empower families to make what they find is the best decision for their students and provide additional options, according to Gruters.
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