By Rich McKay
(Reuters) -Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Friday he plans to issue an executive order instructing the state’s departments of education and health to write rules giving parents the right to decide whether their children will wear a mask at school.
“In Florida, there will be no lockdowns, there will be no school closures, there will be no restrictions and no mandates in the state of Florida,” the Republican governor said during a speech in Cape Coral on Friday morning.
The executive order from DeSantis will come after school districts in Broward and Gadsden counties said recently that students will be required to wear masks to protect against the spread of COVID-19 when classes start next month.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; editing by Diane Craft and Steve Orlofsky)
