Commissioner Nikki Fried Thanks Biden Administration for Efforts to Help Florida Schools Threatened by Mask Order

Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried released the following statement after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the Biden Administration is looking for ways to provide federal funds to school districts in Florida that have had their funding threatened for refusing to comply with Governor DeSantis’s order outlawing mask requirements in schools:

“I’m so grateful to President Biden for responding to our appeal for supplemental funding for Florida schools and protecting the rights of our local school districts. My office and I have been working with the White House to find ways to support school districts that have had their funding threatened by our Governor’s unconstitutional effort to prohibit them from following public health guidelines. There is a large pot of money that was allocated to our state through the American Rescue Plan that has not yet been distributed, and we are working with the Biden Administration to see if this funding could be used to help schools and teachers who are standing up to do the right thing,” Commissioner Fried said. “Thank you, President Biden, for helping to fill the leadership void we have here in Florida.”

Last week, Commissioner Fried began working with the White House to search for solutions as COVID-19 cases reached record levels across the state of Florida.

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