Arizona is penalizing school districts with mask mandates by excluding them from grants. The Arizona legislature has spoken, and Doug Ducey is simply the one signing the bills. Ducey has delayed signing many bills by the aggressive legislature but finally got a budget he wanted and caved to signing them.
The buck does stop with the Governor though, and crazy (in our opinion) Joy Reid from MSNBC is mad. That, or she wants her left-wing viewers to be mad. She tweeted:
“Question: how would Republican governors be behaving if they DIDN’T want COVID to spread? I mean at this point they’re even letting it rip through gradeschools. And the RW fad is to rip off the masks of people who WANT them. Is this some insane “natural herd immunity” experiment?
I mean what is this???”
I mean what is this??? https://t.co/SohqfSbO2v
— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) August 18, 2021
A Maricopa County judge has tried to overrule the Arizona legislature’s new law banning schools from mandating masks. This hasn’t stopped the Governor from threatening to without the grants though.
The judge claims the schools can mandate masks and that the law is not yet in effect.
AZ Central reported in part:
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled Monday that the Arizona law banning COVID-19 mask mandates in schools is not yet in effect and Phoenix Union High School District could continue requiring masks.
The ruling is the latest in the battle over masks in schools and when a state law banning schools from requiring masks takes effect.
The budget bill passed by the Arizona Legislature earlier this summer prohibits school boards from requiring masks. The ban took effect June 30, according to a provision in the legislation, but an opinion from the Legislative Council concluded that the measure is not enforceable until Sept. 29.
After the Phoenix Union district announced it would require students, staff and visitors to wear masks this school year, Metro Tech High School teacher Douglas Hester sued the district, its governing board and its superintendent. Phoenix Union’s governing board lacks the legal authority to require masks, he alleged.
It almost appears to us like this is left-wing activists trying to buy time. They want to be able to tell people what to do, no matter how parents feel. AP also reported in part:
The Republican created a $163 million school grant program using federal virus relief funds he controls, but schools that have mask mandates or have to close because of COVID-19 outbreaks won’t be eligible for the additional $1,800 per student.
“Safety recommendations are welcomed and encouraged — mandates that place more stress on students and families aren’t,” Ducey said in a statement. “These grants acknowledge efforts by schools and educators that are following state laws and keeping their classroom doors open for Arizona’s students.”
School districts with current mask mandates will have 10 days to rescind them or lose out on the money, Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin said. That’s despite the fact that a law banning schools from enacting those rules does not go into effect for more than a month.
