A 7-year-old elementary school student in Palm Beach County, Florida has been ordered to undergo 36 days of suspension and has received several in-school disciplinary actions after she refused to comply with the school district's mask mandate.
Fiona Lashells, who is described by her mother Bailey as "a strong-minded and fearless young girl who was ready to conquer the world at 7," is now at risk of repeating second grade after receiving multiple punishments from the school.
"Fiona has changed her priorities a bit and is on a mission to take back, not only her rights, but every American child's constitutional rights from the tyrant school board being operated by a financial expert who has no knowledge of how to safely and effectively run the 10th largest school district in America," Bailey said of her child as reported by Fox News.
She added that her 7-year-old daughter "has been steadfast in her unwavering decision to not back down to tyranny and lunacy, vowing to do everything she can for every child going thru these lawless mandates."
This is not the first time Fiona was punished by the Florida school district. On August 31, Fiona was first ordered to eat lunch alone in an office hallway. Bailey decried the "blows" that "just seem to not stop" as they were recently informed that Fiona was failing second grade and that "there is no way she could catch up, per her teacher," despite having completed every assignment given to the class.
In a now-removed YouTube video, Fiona explained why she refused to wear a face mask, saying that it "could make you sick."
According to Breitbart, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a measure that prohibits schools from establishing and implementing a mask mandate on its staff and students. The Republican leader argued that it should be the parents who ultimately make decisions about their child's health and safety, and not the schools.
Gov. DeSantis called out the Palm Beach County school board members who "cavort around maskless" while forcing mask mandates on their own students. The governor remarked, "They're not following Florida law. The school board members who defy Florida law, a lot of them cavort around maskless all the time in situations where they're requiring Fiona to do it."
Similar case
Meanwhile in Illinois, a community in Elmhurst has shown their support for an elementary school student who was also suspended for refusing to wear a face mask.
According to Yahoo! News, community members recently gathered outside Elmhurst Elementary School to protest Emmett Thompson's suspension after he failed to comply with school mask mandates. Paul Kenna, who attended the rally, described the situation as "a kid is being bullied by the teacher and the principal and the kids." Protesters held signs that read "Stand with Emmett" and "We support Emmett."
Thompson explained that his parents supported his decision to forego wearing a face mask. He remarked, "I respect other people's opinions because a lot of people disagree with me. But my mom supports me. My family supports me, so I just decided not to wear one." His mother Elizabeth said that she was "proud" that he was "standing up for what he believes in."
