Florida won't force students to quarantine if they've been exposed to COVID-19

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, accompanied by the state's controversial new surgeon general, signed a new rule on Wednesday that allows students directly exposed to COVID-19 to keep going to school, so long as they are asymptomatic. 

The emergency rule says it is meant to "minimize the detriment to students and school personnel from the added burden of recurrent removal of students, and to benefit the overall welfare of students in Florida," as well as protect parents' rights and preserve Floridians' "constitutional freedoms." 

Under the new rule, students who test positive for COVID-19 or who have symptoms are not allowed to attend school until they either get a negative test and no longer have symptoms, or 10 days have passed since they first got symptoms or tested positive, and they have not had a fever in 24 hours. If a student gets a doctor's note saying they can go back to school, they can avoid those restrictions.