A second-grader in Florida may have to repeat the grade after she was suspended more than 30 times for refusing to comply with the district’s face mask mandate.
The Palm Beach County student was described by her mother, Bailey Lashells, as a typical little girl who enjoys arts and crafts, drawing, and making jewelry.
Lashells told the Tampa Free Press that her daughter Fiona “changed her priorities a bit” amid the pandemic.
She said Fiona “has been steadfast” in her decision to “do everything she can for every child going through these lawless mandates.”
The child even appeared in a since-removed YouTube video that talked about her refusal to wear a mask in school because it “could make you sick.”
Her actions brought Fiona to the attention of Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed an executive order that made it optional to wear face masks in public schools last July.
DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw told Fox News that “there is no scientific basis for forced-masking kids in school, and the decision should always be up to the parents.”
“Anyone who denies a young child the right to go to school, for non-compliance with an illegal mask mandate, does not care about education and certainly does not care about kids,” Pushaw continued.
