Our hands have been tied.

If and when there’s another COVID surge in Florida, public schools will be without two of the most useful weapons in our fight against the virus: masks and quarantines.

After months of harassing school districts, including ours, over our COVID-19 protocols, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have passed a new law that blocks schools from requiring masks for students and quarantines for students and staff who appear asymptomatic. The governor even called a special legislative session to get this and other bills targeting COVID-19 measures passed — although he conveniently waited until the delta-driven COVID surge of the late summer and early fall had subsided in the state.

Of course, the outcome of the session was never in any doubt. DeSantis and other state leaders vehemently opposed mask mandates and quarantine protocols even as positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID skyrocketed in Florida during the first few weeks of school. They fought school districts that required them tooth and nail, even withholding our funding because we did what was necessary to protect students and staff during a public health crisis.