Statement by Commissioner Nikki Fried on Biden Administration Reimbursing Florida School Officials Punished for Protecting Students by DeSantis Adm...

Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried offered the following statement in response to reports that the Biden Administration has issued initial reimbursements to school officials whose pay was cut by state officials implementing an unlawful ban on school masking policies.

“I once again thank the Biden Administration for stepping up for Floridians as the Governor continues to stand in the way of common sense and science-based policies to better protect our communities from further spread and loss of life due to COVID-19,” said Commissioner Fried. “The fact that we are even in a situation where the federal government had to intervene due to the state punishing local elected officials for doing their jobs is quite frankly unbelievable. But as I’ve been saying for weeks to those standing up to do the right thing for our communities and our children: know that we have your back, and the White House does too.”

Commissioner Fried has been a vocal supporter of school districts and superintendents who stood up to do what was right to keep their students and staff safe in the face of threats by Governor DeSantis and Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran. The Commissioner has been working with federal officials to find additional resources for districts that saw their budgets cut – even following a judge ruling such action unlawful.

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