Story at a glance
- A Quinnipiac University poll found 60 percent of respondents said they supported requiring students, teachers and staff to wear masks in schools.
- Thirty-six percent of those surveyed said they were opposed.
- Results from the poll fell sharply along party lines.
A new poll suggests Floridians are in favor of requiring masks in schools to slow the spread of COVID-19 as the battle over mandates heats up between local districts and the state.
The Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday found 60 percent of respondents said they supported requiring students, teachers and staff to wear masks in schools, while 36 percent of those surveyed said they were opposed.
In a separate question asking whether schools should be allowed to mandate masks for all students or parents should make the decision, 54 percent said schools while 44 percent said it should be left up to parents.
The survey comes as several school districts in Florida have voted to implement mask requirements for students that do not give parents the choice to opt-out, defying an order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) last month.
The state requires public schools to allow a parent or legal guardian of a student to opt-out of any mask requirements without any reason. DeSantis argues it should be left up to parents to decide whether their children wear face coverings on campuses.
The Florida Board of Education warned several school boards they will begin the process of withholding salaries of board members who approved mandates if they fail to comply with the governor’s orders.
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But the survey released Tuesday found 69 percent of respondents were opposed to the punishment, while 25 percent said they believed it was a good idea.
“As COVID-19 makes a frightening resurgence, it’s Tallahassee vs. the teaching institutions. Thumbs down from Floridians on DeSantis’ ban on mask requirements in public schools. Thumbs down on DeSantis’ call to freeze pay of administrators who mandate mask wearing,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a release.
Results from the poll fell sharply along party lines. Ninety-eight percent of Democrats were in favor of mask mandates, while 72 percent of Republicans opposed them.
The poll was conducted Aug. 17-21 with responses from 997 Florida adults and a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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